Lisa’s sister Christine and her husband Dave came to Anacortes for a visit a couple of weeks ago.  Here are some pictures taken from their visit:

Sad news to report: Lisa has a problem with her left eye.  It’s called “posterior vitreal detachment” and it’s something that can’t be fixed or cured.  When she looks out her eye, she sees a hologram image (like a 3D movie image), floating to the left of center.  Lisa finds it very annoying.  Check out the informaiton on the web.

Since I left government service a couple of months ago, I’ve noticed I have a lot less time on my hands.  As such, there has been little time for keeping the blog up to date. 

So Tim, “What have you been doing with all that FREE time since leaving government service?” (not)  Let’s begin here:

Lisa and I have had a lot of visitors this summer and have spent a lot of time on the sailboat.  As a result, we are finding that the sailboat has been lacking in attention in the area of maintenance by the other owners, and the role of repair and upkeep has fallen to us.  Suffice it to say that I’ve repaired a few problems that have been needing attention for years.  Lisa and I surmise that the other owners have simply lost interest.

Lisa and I have made an offer on a 10 acre parcel of land south of Freeland, Wa, on Whidbey Island.  There is a house on the property, but we are planning on burning it to the ground if we end up buying the property.  The value is in the land, not the house.  The property has been in continuous ownership by one family for four generations and our realtor mentioned that they have not logged the property, unlike the rest of Whidbey Island which was logged 100 - 150 years ago to provide lumber for a growing Seattle market.  We are in our due diligence period, determining what the cost is to get rid of the house and clean up the property.  

You may recall that last year, I and a number of men from our church, painted the Bray home.  A couple of weeks ago we painted their garage and their pump house.  I think we are finally done painting stuff for them.  I wonder what’s next on their to do list?

This week Jim Kniskern, Gordon Lehman, Ian, and I built a deck and a connecting handicap ramp for a church member, Tom Bigelow.  Tom has MS and is now confined to a wheelchair.  

I’ve been playing in a men’s golf league this summer (once per week) at the golf course in Anacortes.  There are four people on our team and we are currently in third place and in the playoffs.  Not bad given there are twenty-two teams playing in the league.  I won low net a couple of weeks ago (a combination of low score and handicap) and walked away with $40.  The league championship round is in two weeks.  Wish me luck.

Lisa and I are leaving on vacation tomorrow.  Our first destination is Glacier National Park in Montana, then onto Star Valley, Wyoming.  Lisa’s sister’s side of the family is having a family reunion in Star Valley beginning on Thursday and we have been invited to attend.

Lisa: “Can you put some cloths on?  It’s 9:00 already!”

Tim: “What’s wrong with wearing my pajamas?  They’re good enough to sleep in, aren’t they good enough to work in?”
 
That conversation has gone on, in one fashion or another, since I began working from home. 
 
Being home the last couple of months I have ditched the government office attire and moved steadily down the style scale to a point where sleep wear has become my outfit of choice.  Since I usually don’t go anywhere before noon, why bother getting dressed or putting forth an effort into how I look.  If my bride, the UPS deliveryman, or one of my neighbors are the only people to see me, no big deal, right?
 
In the last two months I’ve come to learn that working from home presents a fashion conundrum.  Let’s see, do I wear the full-length dark blue and green plaid check flannel pajamas, or do I wear the short light blue cotton pair in the Stewart Plaid pattern with an accent blue top? 
 
My day begins before 5:00am so it’s hard to get up 45 minutes earlier to shave, shower, or eat my morning breakfast.  The process excellence side of me says, “I’m getting a jump on the day’s trading, so staying in my PJ’s makes it an efficient and productive way to start the day.”  But what has happened, often enough, is I end up attired in my pajamas deep into the day.  Let’s see, “After a review of this next asset class, I’ll go shower and get dressed, or maybe after doing this last thing I’ll clean up and then return to my computer, all dressed and refreshed.”  An hour later I’m saying the same thing.  My behavior has lead me into a sloppy dressing habit.  “How did I slip into sloppy so easy?”
 
When I worked in a professional office, I got up, showered, got dressed, had breakfast and then left the house.  As I drove merrily along, I created a mental transition from my home life into my work life.  Arriving at my desk signaled, “Time to work.”  When I work from home, I need to create a similar transition.  Except, I have nowhere to go. 
 
Lisa has long since made the physical and mental transition.  I’m in the process.  Working from home can often blur the lines between work life and non-work life, but I’ve  committed to remain disciplined in finding my routine, following the same regime as if I were planning to hoof it into the office that day. 
 
Our home office is as legitimate as an office work cubicle.  Even if there is a pile of dishes in the kitchen sink, I still need to be as professional as possible when I’m doing my job, which is trading the market.  Just because I work from home doesn’t mean I’m off the hook.  In order for me to be taken seriously, by Lisa or myself, I need to maintain a professional image.
 
And I’ll go a step further and say I don’t believe anyone really feels great, being their most productive, their most creative, their most in the groove, working in their pajamas until late morning.  Truly, I’ve felt like a sloth.  A dirty, bad breath, unshaven, bed head sloth.
 
With Lisa’s help I’ve learned that starting my workday in my pajamas doesn’t work, no matter how early it is.  Even if I’m not going to see anyone else all day, I need to get dressed for work.
 
Day trading is hard.  It’s serious.  It’s like running a BUSINESS.  And if I’m not on my toes, the business will fail.  It’s a big mental shift, from thinking “I’m an office worker” to “I’m in business.”  My attitude should be, I’m in business, I’m serious about it, so I’m dressed and ready for the day, even if it’s early.  That’s a shift I should have made two months ago.
 
Speaking of clothing, the business wardrobe staple, my standard button down shirts, now hang in the closet looking for attention.  Those poor shirts are getting no respect.  I’ve not donned a button down shirt, other than my Sunday shirt, more than a couple of times in the last ten weeks.  Ironing time has been greatly reduced.

Last weekend found Lisa and me on Lopez Island, accompanied by Ian and Kaylene.  We took the sailboat over on Saturday, arriving at Fisherman’s Bay Marina on the west side of the island at 4:00pm.  The entrance in and out of the bay can only happen, at or near high tide for a sailboat our size.  The entrance into the bay is very shallow.  To catch the tide we left at 6:00am on Tuesday morning to come home.  

We meet there with two other couples we know, Bill and Elaine Weaver and Steve and Chris Treiber, who had also mooraged their boats at the marina.  We went to church on Sunday morning, took in a Beatle’s Tribute Band concert, watched the small town fourth of July parade, rode our bikes around town, toured the island, and watched fireworks from The Weaver’s boat.  It was cold and windy during our time on the island.

Below are pictures from our outing.