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IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

It's hard to believe that May is here already and before you know it, summer will be here - although with the way this winter and spring have gone, sometimes I'm not so sure! I like to think ahead and hopefully we will have some sunnier days.

Lots of things going on in my neck of the woods this week and it seems like I never have time to sit down and relax for more than a few minutes. The Nehalem Bay Garden Club's annual plant sale is just around the corner (Mother's Day weekend) so all the members are busy scurrying around trying to get last minute items ready for that. At the last minute, we had someone donate another 130 plants for our sale and that is in addition to what we already have. I spent all morning on Monday re-potting and tagging plants and then I spent Thursday morning at another friend's house getting her pots tagged. She needed help because she has to go into surgery next week to remove a tumor from her leg and she can't stand for very long. Along with everything else, I am trying to get my own plants that I have grown ready for the plant sale. The little Marigolds I started from seed are about ready to bloom and the Poppies are looking good. I have them pretty well organized, just some last minute tagging and inspecting for slugs and other creepy crawlies that decide to make a home in a pot or two.

We had a meeting last Sunday regarding the new tsunami maps that have been printed up from the DOGAMI (Department of Geology and Mineral Industries) people for our area. The locals had a speaker talk to us about the conditions that would happen when (not if) an earthquake occurs and what we should do to prepare ourselves. The new maps put our place just at the edge of the inundation zone, so if the earthquake doesn't get us, then a large tsunami will. It's kind of depressing to think about but we do need to prepare for the worst.

Dave and I made it to our favorite pizza place (the Pizza Garden) in Nehalem on Sunday afternoon. Let me think, I got to go out for breakfast that morning and then out for pizza that night. Life is good and it is always a treat because I don't have to cook! The owner of the pizza place always comes out to visit with us while we're there and we always order the same thing - pepperoni pizza. That drives her nuts because she has a lot of good Italian food that she'd like us to try but we always settle for the pizza. The place was packed and she was really busy too so we didn't have a lot of time to talk. We like to see that (the "busy" part) around here!

It has been raining most of the week which makes it miserable to try to work outside and get anything done. However, the weather Gods were kind enough to ease up a bit on Wednesday and the Park and Rec. Committee was able to have a work party at the Waterfront Park so we could get a few weeds pulled. The rains started up again just about the time we were finished. We get a lot of compliments from people who visit the park and it always makes us feel appreciated for all our efforts.

The Goldfinches are back in full strength at the feeders. They are so numerous that I had to put up an extra feeder to accommodate them all. They are one of my favorite birds and I don't care if nothing else comes to my feeders as long as the Goldfinches arrive.

Dave finally got started on a project he's been planning for a year or so. Last year, he built a shelter for the garbage cans to protect them from the elements as well as protecting them from the raccoons. At that same time, he decided he would build another shelter right next to the first to house all of his fuel containers. That doesn't sound like much until you realize the variety of fuel we need around here. Plain gas, gas with no ethanol (for the small engines), gas without ethanol mixed with oil for outboard motors, chain saws and weed eaters, diesel for the tractor and diesel mixed with crankcase oil for the steamboat. That's all I can think of - I'm sure there's more! Anyway, all those containers are lying around all over the place and it really doesn't look very nice. So I'm glad he's building something to get them under cover and out of sight! It looks like we'll have a few nice days this next week, so maybe he can finish that project then.

A while back, during Spring break, we had our two oldest granddaughters spend some time with us. Ashtin and Paige had gone to one of the Trail Blazer games with their family and afterward the game they rode home with Dave to spend the week with us down at the Coast. Anyway, Ashtin is a real fan of Blazer forward Nicolas Batum and was so thrilled after the game to get her picture taken with him and get her souvenir jersey autographed by him. We received a cute picture of them the other day and wanted to share it with everyone. Ashtin is getting ready to take a class trip to Washington, D.C., New York and the Amish country in June. She has been working and saving her money for three years to take this trip. Her Mom is going to go along with her so it should be a great trip for both of them. I wish I could go along too, but I would rather make the trip with Dave sometime before we get too old to go. We have friends that live back there that have been begging us to come see them and they would even show us around. One of these days...

That's about all the news my way. Next week we will be getting ready for birthdays. We have three in a row - Leslie's is on the 11th of May, Jaysa's is on the 12th and Jason's is on the 13th. Plus, we need to throw in Mother's Day too.