NTMA annual convention

Char and I at the Miner winery overlooking the Napa valley in the background looking west.

NTMA (National Terrazzo & Mosaic Association) held their annual convention in Napa valley this year. We stayed at the Silverado Resort. We had a wine tasting (reception dinner) at the Markham winery, we also visited Miner winery and also Berringer winery. You sure do learn a lot on the wine tasting tours.


Our reception tasting and opening dinner was held at the Markham winery. This photo is the storage room where they set up our dinner. They had a man and woman perform songs from the phantom of the Opera when our dessert was served. I approximated 1,484 barrels of wine stored in this room.

Our dessert was dark chocolate brownies served with a drizzle of Raspberry sauce and a White Chocolate Phantom of the Opera mask, right as dessert was served the main music from the Phantom of the Opera started as the crowd was surprised by the loud intro of music. It was way cool.

The tasting at Beringer winery, where we learned how to pair the right wine with the right foods, very informative!

Our tasting at the Miner winery in their cave room leading to the storage cave.

On our way to Yosemite after the convention was over, we stopped for some just picked strawberries, then we enjoyed them along the way.

Rim of the World, in Stanislaus forest.

Western entrance to Yosemite national park.

Same view as the sign at the entrance to the Park.
"El Capitan" on the left and "Half Dome" in the center.

These are just a few of the many photos taken on our trip to the NTMA national convention.

We then drove the back roads south out of the park, headed to see the "Team Thompsons" in Southern California.

We went to dinner Friday night with the "TEAM" and the following morning we were able to take a tour through the "Smith Correctional Facility" where Michael works. I find it interesting to see criminals housed. They are like caged animals, cared for by Law enforcement employees.

Future's so bright, you gotta squint.

Char says she likes this one, except for the fact that my glasses
are on top of my head. She hates that. What's a guy to do?

Does this guy look like he's 50 years old?

Give me a caption for this one!

Family photos

Just a few more photos of the BIG 50 bash
photos taken by Bob Lane, the Panasonic guy.

left to right: Pat Knutson, Jasmin Frantzen, (RDTI office mgr.)
Fred Frantzen, Ken Knutsen, Carl Birdsell, Heidi Frantzen.



left to right: Walter Palmani, George Busby (back to camera)
John Brown, Kathy Lane, Denise Payne, Mike Payne,
Inta Brown, Patricia Thornham, Bruce Thornham, Me.


Me and the "Mad Irishman" Patrick Tangney,
a dear friend.

left to right: Denise Payne, Patricia Thornham
Mike Payne (back to camera) Bruce Thornham
Denise and Mike drove over from Lake Elsinore.
Bruce and Patricia are from Phoenix.
All 4 are in the Terrazzo business.



Char taking a picture of Bob Lane (Mr. Panasonic)
taking a picture of Char.

left to right: Char, Christian, Connor, Ashley, Clint,
Grandma Marty, good conversation and good food.

Stephanie, Christian, Connor, Ashley, Clint

Christian, Stephanie, Brooke and Char Char

No photos of Michael, Jannae, and Baylee at this
point in the day, as they hadn't arrived yet.

Praise Report

Xena is up and about for several firsts after surgery.
This first was her relieving her bladder. You can see her drain tube (white) just in fron of her left rear foot.

Then her next first after surgery was a casual walk around her yard. She wanted to make sure everything is as it should be. Then she went back and laid down for the rest of the day.

She looked pretty good actually, she doesn't seem to have a bad limp, just a slight one. Time will tell after all the healing has completed. Praise the LORD she can get up and walk.

This morning she got up in the wee hours of the morning and wee'd in two different spots. GOOD FOR YOU XENA!

We're blessed that Jesus has chosen to once again bless us and favor us with a speedy recovery for our good friend and watch dog, Xena.

50th

It seems I don't know how to post the photos and have the dialog match the photos.
Guess I need blogging for dummies.

Here's Michael and Jannae at breakfast the morning after the party.








Mom and Paul in our kitchen.

WE RECENTLY CELEBRATED MY 50TH BIRTHDAY, HERE AT MY HOUSE IN PHOENIX, AZ.

Immediately after I had to turn my attention to my sick dog, so I wasn't able to post any thoughts or photos about the party. With business going, the arrangements for the party (all falling on my shoulders) as Char was busy with school and work stuff.

We invited 75 people to help celebrate my 50th birthday. 50? I still think I am 25.

We had a BBQ company cater the food. It was very good food.

Christian, Stephanie, Brooke, Michael, Jannae, Baylee, Connor, Ashley, Mom, Paul, my Dad, all made the drive from California across the "LAND OF DIRT" to help celebrate and commemorate my 50th birthday. I am so greatful to all of you for the effort you put out on my behalf. I even had 2 business associates make the trek from Lake Elsinore across the "LAND OF DIRT" to help in the celebration. I had employess with their families there, and also Husbands and Wives from the Mens group there too. All told, 40 people were there. We put a giant tent over the North patio in case it rained. At the close of the day, a lot people were in our small home cramming it to capacity. As fast as it started, it seemed like time flew by. Then, all of a sudden it was over and everybody was gone, even the kids. No quality time to visit. Our Breakfast and regroup at the house the next morning was very "FAMILY". I was filled with great joy in having my Sons and their wives and the Grand Baby girls, together for a short time. It always goes by too fast.

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH I CAN'T FIND THE RIGHT WORDS TO MAKE YOU FEEL HOW I FEEL INSIDE ABOUT EACH ONE OF YOU.

"I LOVE YOU"

Thank you for coming here to celebrate Gramps' 50th Birthday.

I don't know how to post photos here that will be in context. So I'll stop with the odd photo arrangement for now.

Until next time,

Peace and Grace.

Xena's tumor week

Xena down for the night.

Xena Resting, the patch of missing hair is where she had her I.V.

Doped up after surgery, and not even interested in a doggy treat, which she usually gobbles down.

Soft ball sized Tumor. Had to go. The Doctor had to completely sever the muscle the tumor was attached to. Poor Xena. She'll never be able to walk like she used to. But, at least we still have her.

Personal opinion

Hello again,

To those of you who follow this blog, (probably noone) I want to state some personal opinion.

I personally boycott companies and corporations that promote liberal agendas and perspectives. Why?
Because I am compelled to give my money to like minded companies for their conservative agendas and perspectives. I have a list, but at the risk of offending close loved ones I won't list them here.

If you believe in one liberal minded world views then I oppose you. I will supp with you, I will converse with you. That's as far as it goes. I won't be close or give you my deep inner feelings. I am called to share that with like minded people.

You can have Hollywood and all the professional LIARS that make their living convincing us that they are someone else. Lets face it, they are paid (some more than others) to make us believe their dialog, which is made up of fictitious stories. Some use Hollywood to enhance their lifestyle choices and then they elevate the actors as brilliant for bringing perverse thinking and actions to the "Silver Screen".

Think about this: We as a nation are slouching toward Gomorrah. Not sure what that is? Look it up.
In the end you will call that which is good, bad and you will call that which is bad, good.

Sound familiar? No I suppose not.

We call so many perverted things right.

We as Christ centered people must take our profession of Christ seriously. He wants us to take a stand in defense of him and his word.

Until next time,

Peace and Grace.

Stir Fry Saturday

MMMMMMM

I stopped by the store on the way home from the Saturday Mens meeting and bought a bunch of healthy vegatables and some fresh Ahi Tuna for a delicious mid afternoon meal.

I cooked all the ingredients in an old fashioned wok. I used japanese rice vinegar and sesame seed oil heated very high and seared all the veggies first, cooked the Tuna separate. Added the shootin match together and Voila.

Sprinkled ponzu sauce over the whole thing and man oh man was it good. so good, I ate two helpings. Char thought it was pretty good.

We're takin the rest day to study and relax.

Until next time.

Peace and Grace.

WOC follow up

Well it's been a busy time after the show was over. We planned to visit the Hoover Dam, but it was raining when we got up Saturday. So we ate breakfast and hit the road. Rained hard all the way to Kingman, Az. then it slowed to a drizzle.

The show was very slow, most both spaces were full. The attendance was down by 40%.

We got several quality leads and we're hopeful that the new contacts will become customers this year.

What a whirlwind it was.

More to follow...

Peace and
Grace

WOC 2009

Well it was the day to make sure everything is plugged in and working. It is also the day to get the concrete slab ground and polished. Here is a photo of my main man Clint cleaning the schmutz (Slurry) from the machine after we did the wet portion of the grind/polish process.
Yes you sometimes have to use water to grind the slab, most of the time we like to grind without water, but today we found it necessary to use a little water to speed up the process. The show will officially open tomorrow morning at 9:30 a.m.
It appeared that the halls inside had a bunch of empty booth spaces, the show administrators tell us the show will be the biggest ever. I am skeptical though. We'll see.

Until next time,

Peace and Grace to you all.

TOO BAD, SO SAD.

well the Cards gave it a valiant try in the end. What a great 4th quarter.

MAYBE NEXT YEAR, yeah right. Us tried and true Chargers fans have been saying that since the days of Don Coryell.

It was an exciting 1/2 hour though.

Now onto more serious business. We're here in Sin City for the Big Show. Got everything offloaded today and set in place. Tomorrow we put it all together and spread it all out. Show starts first thing Tuesday morning.

Keep us in your prayers.

Until next time.

Peace and Grace

WOC 2009

Well it's official. The trailer is packed to the gills. And I mean packed, hopefully everything will stay where it is and it will all arrive unscratched and undented. We actually broke off one the wheels on the last cabinet we loaded, we're hoping it will still function when we get it to the booth. If not we'll hang a sign on it and tell people to see us outside in our outdoor booth.
I blew out my left knee and am unsure how the week will go. GOD willing, I'll get through it. Always do.

Until next time,

Peace and Grace.

World Of Concrete blues

World of Concrete is next week and wouldn't you know it things just keep getting more fouled up as the minutes go by.

The owner of TERRCO asked us to bring our big 40 horse power grinder to the show as his are are sold out. Since we already had a trailer full of displays and goods to load I knew I wouldn't have enough room. So I wisely rented a 24' enclosed truck with a 2,500 lift gate. Problem solved. I arrived at the rental store today to pick up the truck and attendant said he would have to go get it. So we waited a few minutes and here comes the beautiful big box truck. I asked him to demonstrate the functions of the lift gate and he was happy to oblige. The first 18" folded out flat and then he grabbed a handle and the next 12" folded flat. I said well don't stop there unfold the rest. REST? he said. Yes I said, surely there is more than 30" of depth to this lift gate how does one move anything onto and off of a 30" plateform that has to be raised to a height of 48", Oh did I forget to mention that the entire lift gate slanted backward at a thirty degree angle? At this point I asked for another truck and he stated that all the trucks were the same. So we decided we would have to "CRAM" our entire load of one 1800# floor grinder 38"wide x 72" long x 55" high and then get the two display cabinets in, 1250#'s each 5-1/2' tall x 5' long x 30" wide into a 6' x 12' trailer that has only a 5' long ramp door. I think (we don't have a choice) we can do it even if the goods arrive dented and scratched at least they'll be there. I Just Love last minute problems before the "BIG SHOW" I'll hopefully post WOC photos while we are there. PRAY for us (Clint and I) I really really dislike Las Vegas. I always feel like something is going to stick to me.

Until Next time.

Peace and Grace.

World Of Concrete

Well it's that time again.

"THE BIG SHOW"

I have staved off sickness for the longest time, wouldn't you know it, now the WOC is just next week I have come down with a sneezy, itchy watery eyes, runny nose, coughing, wheezing, congested COLD. just the sort of thing to make you miserable as you go through your day.

Oh well I'll get through it. Always do.

Until next time...

Peace and Grace.

Migraine

Any one know of a natural method for dealing with migraine headaches? I had one wake me up Wednesday morning @ 2:00 lasted until 5:00 a.m. Thursday morning. I take Imitrex but it didn't help this time.

I can't help but think the whole headache thing is some how related to my Blood pressure and heart condition. Doctors are unhelpful, as they want to experiment with a variety of drugs whose side effects are worse that the malady.

Anyone? Bueler? Bueler?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHAR

Well we (the reliable crew and I) surprised Char today. I sent her off to the hairdresser, had her stop for some milk on the way home (of course I knew she would shop full blown). While she was away I sent Carl and Jasmine to the store to pick up the pre-ordered Carrot Cake (her favorite) and then to the grocery store to buy the fixings for Pico De Gallo. I had Clint go to Carolinas (pronounced caroleenas) to pick up Spanish Rice, Refried beans, Three way Burritos, and cruchy Beef Tacos. The pico fixings showed up first and I got busy. The food arrived next and we kept it in the oven waiting. We turned on the security camera and waited and watched. Then all of a sudden she pulled into the drive way. She opened the gargage door as usual, grabbed a few bags from the back of her pathfinder and headed in the house where we were hiding and...... you guessed it, we yelled SURPRISE, & SURPISED HER. She cried a little. She had a good birthday lunch and she is now enjoying a few more bites of her cake.

Until Next time,

Peace and Grace

Char says Hello to everyone watching

She has such white teeth, Huh?

Cardinal Super Sunday

One of the oldest. You know what they say, Wisdom comes with age.
Kurt Warner did pretty well.
Well the town is rockin. There will be red jersys and red garb for the next few months.
GO CARDS.

Cacti Mickey

Well now that my blog has the flag removed I can post photos again. So here is Cacti Mickey.

CARDINALS WIN!!!

HEY HI. First time in 61 years.
I guess every body will want Cards jersys, put in your orders while supplies last.

Cardinal Sunday

Well can you believe it? The Arizona Cardinals are putting on quite a good show. We'll see.
Here is a taste of the Great Food Char prepared today

Cacti Mickey

GOD sure has a since of humor. I think it's our favorite volunteer.

Well it's official

I have been red flagged for objectionable content in my blog. I don't what is objectionable to someone who visited my blog, I guess I'll find out soon.

Any way Today was a typical Saturday for Char and I.

I am up early & out the door by 7:15 headed to Church to open up room 207 for the Saturday Morning "Men Building Men" Introduction meeting. (I am the facilitator) GOD delivered 5 thirsty men today, a real Harvest. We do the introduction on the 3rd Saturday of each month. I have been facilitating these meetings for 6.5 years now. Normally on Saturday mornings I teach the bible to a group of men that have been together for 7 years now. While I am at church Char is at home feeding Xena (the wonder Rottweiller) and tuning in to her cooking shows. Then she plans her shopping list at the grocery store based on the latest recipe. Then she goes to the store and I stay on the Ponderosa and get things fixed, without straining my self, hopefully. I have to wait for help some times. It's a drag getting old. After I got home from Church today I fixed a long over due south gate, got it rebolted to the block and it is now able to withstand another 5 years or so. Then I installed parts to the newest grinder in the Reliable Diamond Tool rental fleet. It has to go out on a job first thing Monday at 6:00 a.m., I 'll be delivering it to a jobsite in Prescott (pronounced presscut, for those of you who didn't know). We get up early around here. Then I set out to install the new Bidet in the spare bathroom, ooopps it needs it's own electricity. A call to the Electrical contractor is now in order. Oh well I didn't get all the chores done today, there is always next week. Another 10 minutes and the latest cuisine will be served, I'll sign off for now.
Peace and Grace.

This is the basis of what we do. Industrial Diamond

Thursday Jan. 15th 2009
I just want to record some thoughts for others to ponder.
I am an American.
I am saddened at the fact that the year I started school (1964) an atheist won a law suit against the United States and the Bible was taken out of the public schools.
I didn't know it then, (it took decades to really understand) I was short changed.
Had I had the Bible as a moral compass, I may have made other choices in my life. I have regrets, many. I am thankful that at a crucial point in my life I discovered the Bible as a guideline for my life.
I am not sure how many people will read this posting but it will at times seem rambling and at other times it will seem pointed and direct.

Just go with the flow.

I don't know about anyone else but, I am emotionally scarred at the loss of the World Trade Center. Every time I see the New York skyline it seems void. I will carry this feeling for the rest of my life.

I hope those involved in that tragedy will be treated with mercy and kindness on judgement day.

Today was a good day. I only had one heart episode which had me take a time out for 2.5 hours. Thats really pretty good. Usually it takes a much longer time out to get regulated again.

We're making ready for the "Big Show" trade show in a couple of weeks. Lots of stress, anxiety and grief, especially since the economy has taken a very big negative turn in construction trades. We dislike spending tons of money to advertise the fact that we're legit, but its a necessary evil. Evil I say because the "Big Show" is always held in Las Vegas. Ugh!

Well on a lighter note, everyone survived a plane crash into the Hudson river today, hence my turn to the New York City skyline earlier in this post. Praise the Lord everyone survived.

Until next time,

Peace and Grace to you.

As usual Monday

Well here goes the first Team Thompson Arizona blog.
Char and I are busy doing our respective jobs, it seems we only get busier as we get older. Older and wiser they say. I would like to think so. I know for sure we get busier. I hope you will come and visit the blog spot from time to time. I and CHar will add photos of family and friends as we go.
Love, Peace and Grace.

TTA