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August 27, 2004

IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

Hi again. Let me see, we left off last weekend by going into Portland to attend a few social functions and run errands.

Friday night we spent at Lara and Greg's. Greg's sister and brother-in-law were coming in to help celebrate their mother's surprise birthday and Caroline didn't know that Lynn and Jed were down from their home in Alaska. Lara had invited about 40-50 friends over to celebrate and she was praying that it would stop raining long enough to let some of those people spill over to the outdoors. It did. The party was a success and Caroline was indeed surprised, especially when her daughter jumped out of a big gift box!

Saturday, Lara and I went over to see my mom and stopped at Clackamas Town Center to do some baby shopping. This Grandma is such a soft touch when it comes to those grandbabies. We got Jadyn some new pj's and some new shoes. I LOVE to buy goodies for those kids! Saturday at noon, Dave and I met Leslie and her family for lunch in Woodburn and then it was back to Hillsboro to Stan and Terrie's place. We all went out for Mexican and then spent Saturday and Sunday night with them. We gave up our bed at Lara's so Lynn and Jed would have a place to stay. It seemed like we spent a lot of time eating out this weekend. The receipts show meals at Little Cooperstown Pub, Huber's on the Green, Reedville Cafe and Mazatlan Mexican. That's a month's worth of "eating out" under normal circumstances! Still, I've noticed that we do tend to eat out more since I've retired. Especially when we leave Wheeler. It's just easier than trying to come up with some food to cook at the apartment when we're not there very much. And, hey! I really don't mind at all!

Did I mention that it rained all weekend? Now, being from Oregon, I kind of like the rain and I really shouldn't complain, as we haven't had much this summer. But, this is August and it can stop any time now. It has poured all week and I want to see the sun again before I forget what it looks like.

On Sunday, we attended the Marine Transportation picnic where they were remembering all members who had died that year. Naturally, Dave's mom was one of the members mentioned and it was a touching moment. Dave had a chance to talk with people who had worked with his father on the river and everyone remarked on his resemblance to his dad. Luckily the picnic was held in a pavilion so we didn't get wet...because...guess what? It was pouring!

Monday morning, I picked up my mom and headed for home. She loves to come down for a break from her life at the retirement place where she lives. It is always a good feeling to be heading back to Wheeler. Between the "bad" air and traffic; I don't miss the big city life at all.

Did I mention that It is still raining or should I say pouring, so we have spent most of the week inside watching the Olympics, baseball games and watching the crazy fishermen trying to catch fish in the rain. My mother is an avid baseball fan and can sit for hours watching a game. Her father, my grandfather, was a pitcher for a professional baseball team way back when, and she used to live at the ballpark watching him play. I like sports, but NOT baseball. It is soooo boring. My mom was here all week so I got more than my fill of baseball. I was hoping that the rain would let up before I brought her back to Portland today so we could get outside and do something. Finally, today looks better, but now we're headed for Portland.

We have these huge birds called Blue Herons that live here. They are rather large wading birds with long legs, neck and bill with a wingspan of about 6 feet and they nest in the fir trees in the hills behind our house. Every night about dusk they fly over and it reminds me of Jurassic Park! Like some modern-day Pterodactyl. They look so prehistoric. As they fly home in the evening, some of them come very close to the house. Believe me, it's an impressive site when a bird that can block out the sun flies a few feet away from you. They fly by...and all you can say is "wow!"

We tried to get some pictures of them flying, but wouldn't you know it...they didn't get close enough for a good picture! We did get this one of a Heron on a tree stump several hundred yards away. The picture was taken with the digital camera looking through the telescope, so the quality isn't there. Still, they are impressive birds! And as long as we were taking pictures of birds, we used the telescope again to get a shot of an Egret over on the island. The Egret is a white-feathered cousin to the Heron. And later, again with the telescope, a Cormorant airing out his wings while sitting on a piling. He too, was several hundred yards away. It really is neat to be able to step out on the front porch and see all that wildlife!

Oh, and when the rain does stop, which it finally did last night, the sunset makes it all worthwhile!

GIVE ME A BREAK!!

Have I talked about one of my pet peeves? What is with the way items are packaged? Obviously they don't want you to get into them very easily. Whether it's a box of cereal that I'm trying to open or a bag of chips, I always manage to get half of them spilled on the floor. And then there are shrink-wrapped items. There is no way you can get them opened without a pair of scissors or using your teeth. And what's with that plastic wrap that sticks to itself? Ever try to find the end of one of those packages? It is so frustrating and I often wonder how people with a handicap ever manage. And it's not just me. Dave gets home from the hardware store and you ought to hear him trying to get some screws or something out of one of those "blister wrap" thingys. Well...no, come to think of it, you shouldn't hear him! Anyway, I yearn for the days when all you had to do was open a flap and..."ta-da"...whatever you wanted was right there!