Jan's Journal

December 17, 2004

IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

'Tis the season and I was too busy last week to get an entry in here. Sorry about that - it won't happen again!

We had my mom down for a couple of days and then we turned around on Wednesday and headed back into town. We had a Christmas party to attend and a couple of Blazer games to work and we also babysat our grandchildren, so we decided to stay in town the rest of the week.

The game on Sunday was our last for a while as the Blazers are playing on the road until they are home again on the 27th. We won't be going back into town until Christmas so I wanted to get my shopping done. I just have a couple of things to buy and then I can just sit back and relax for a while. What a difference being retired!

As I mentioned, last weekend we went down to Salem and babysat on Saturday night for our daughter Leslie and son-in-law Jason. Their two girls are 2-1/2 and 5 years old. The next morning, we got up and went to the 5-year-old's Christmas program at their church. Ashtin looked so cute up on stage with her red Christmas dress on, singing all the songs they had been learning for the season. Since we had to leave right after the service, we called her on Monday night to compliment her on her performance.

After church, we left for Portland to set up for the game. I didn't have to work, so I helped Dave set up his equipment and then I actually sat with the crowd and acted like a fan for a change. It was a different perspective for me, because when you sit on Press Row you aren't allowed to express yourself and sometimes that can be very hard! On the other hand, after 27 years on Press Row, I had to keep reminding myself that it was OK to actually cheer from my seat in the stands!

We were so tired of sleeping in other people's beds and living out of a suitcase this past week that we decided to drive home right after the game on Sunday. It is only a two-hour drive from Portland to the coast, although we are driving through mountains and forest. On the way home we almost made a coyote part of our tire treads. He darted out in front of us so fast and if Dave hadn't put on the brakes it would have been all over for him! We also saw some elk dashing along side of the road and a little farther down the road, a deer was just standing by the road watching us drive by. We really have to keep our eyes open when we are driving through the forest during the night.

We have had some real storms down here. I didn't realize how much harder it rains and blows at the coast. Winds were blowing at 40-50 miles-per-hour with gusts to 70! And we had over 2 inches of rain on one of those days! And that's fairly typical for a winter storm! One of the highest tides of the year was this weekend and the island in front of our house was nearly covered. So long as we are tucked inside warm and dry, it is all kind of exciting. By mid-week this week however, it had cleared up and we were actually able to get out and do our daily walk up to the post office to get the mail. I think I'll take advantage of this mid-Winter break in the weather and get outside and do some yard work as well.

Dave got his new computer this week. Terrill, our computer guy, came down from Hillsboro with his family on Tuesday and spent most of the day installing it. It is so much faster than that 9-year old antique that we had been using. The new keyboard and mouse are wireless and we can actually see what is on the monitor. The old monitor had gotten so dark that we couldn't see photos very well. In fact, we saved a couple of them so we could see what they looked like on the new monitor. Wow! What a difference! Dave is almost moved into the office now and that means that I will never see him! I was kidding him about "living" down there. He has about all he needs, a bed, a bathroom, a TV and a computer! Maybe when he gets hungry he will wander upstairs to see me! I know that if I keep the coffee pot up here, he'll have to come by for a fill-up!! One of the things that still needs "tweaking" on the new computer is the program that he uses to post photos on this page. Once he gets that fixed, I can start including pictures in the journal again.

Today, we are going to go up to Seaside, which is about 25 miles north of us, to go shopping and have dinner and maybe see a movie. We also have two Christmas parties to attend this weekend, one on Saturday and the other on Sunday. We are such social butterflies!!

GIVE ME A BREAK!!

Now that the holidays are here, I do have one gripe. Why do the radio stations have to start playing Christmas songs the day after Thanksgiving? I am so sick of hearing Christmas songs by the time the holiday is here that I want to scream! Don't get me wrong. I love the songs. In fact, in July I sort of look forward to the time when we can hear those beautiful Christmas carols. But like anything...too much of a good thing can ruin it! When the stores start with Christmas displays before Halloween and the radio is wall-to-wall with seasonal music for a solid month, it's just more than I need!