This month's calendar                         Archives                            Our Google Calendar                   

December 12, 2008

IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

Are you ready for Christmas yet? I wish!!

That's what I have been doing all this week - trying to make a dent in the list of things I want to get done before Christmas, or should I say, by December 20th. The family is getting together at our house for our Christmas on that weekend so instead of two weeks to go, I only have one!

I went up in the attic and got all my Christmas decorations down to make the place look festive for the holiday. We are only putting up the tiny kitchen tree this year because we just don't have room for a big tree in the living room when we have company. I have all the granddaughters' gifts bought and wrapped and I sent out the Christmas letter, so I am making progress.

Dave has been busy putting up the outside lights (between storms). You should have seen us when it came time to do the side of the house that is about 20 feet from the ground. He sat on the deck rail and leaned backwards to reach up and hang the lights on the eave. I held his legs so he wouldn't lose his balance and fall head over heels down to the ground. I can't imagine what the neighbors thought was going on! Right now, I am thinking that when the holidays are through we may keep those lights up there so we won't have to go through that again. I know it looks tacky come July, but it was such an effort to get them up.

Speaking of lights and all, the Park and Recreation Committee got together last Saturday and we put up lights at Waterfront Park. We decorated a couple of bushes and a fir tree, plus the little train station. Usually each year, the Speeders (hobby rail cars) arrive on the railroad tracks with Santa Claus in tow. He passes out candy and greets all the kids, but they decided not to do it this year, so the town won't be doing anything special.

Sunday was a stormy day, so I decided to go to Tillamook and stock up at the grocery store. That afternoon, we sat down to watch a DVD on the new TV. We got "Polar Express" out to see what it looks like on the wide screen. There are a lot of special effects in that movie and it was fun watching it again.

Oh, the continuing tale of the small animal trap we bought. We think we've managed to trap a couple of raccoons, but they've escaped before morning. We have managed to catch two cats so far! The first one was really pissed too. He had chewed up the plastic bowl the cat food was in that we had used for bait and when Dave finally unlatched the trap to let him out, he was hissing and growling! Once the cage door was open, he didn't waste any time getting out of there - all we saw was a black and white streak headed down the hill! The other cat was young and by the time we found her, she was wet and cold and all she wanted to do was get free so she could lie by the fire to dry out. Since those episodes, the cats have stayed away and the raccoon showed up once but I stomped my feet and scared him away. I am still bringing my bird feeders in every night, as I just don't trust them.

Dave had to go into town on Tuesday for a Blazer game and I went along as I had a hair appointment the next day. I dropped him off at the Rose Garden because I wanted the car to get a little shopping done. I ended up stopping at about four different places (Wal-Mart, WinCo, Costco and Clackamas Town Center). At each place I had to park about a mile away and walk. I can't remember the last time it was this crowded during the middle of the week. I hate to think about what it would be like on a weekend! Anyway, by the time I was finished, I had done so much walking that I developed shin splints and could hardly walk the next day! Ohhh those hurt!

I drove back over to the Rose Garden later that night and arrived in time for the second half of the game. Since the Blazers have been selling out most of the home games, there are no seats available so I spent my time watching the game in the back. This time I sat in the "Low Post" control room and watched the television director do his thing. It was fascinating to see what goes on behind the scenes and see how he orchestrated all the cameras during the game.

Speaking of aches and pains, I decided to take this stretching class that was offered at the pool on Friday mornings. I do the water aerobics classes Monday through Thursday, so I thought this would be a fun way to finish off my week. Little did I know that with all that stretching and bending we did in that class that I would discover some muscles that had been dormant for awhile and sure felt the pain from all that.

The cable TV guy showed up to hook up the HD feed for the new television on Thursday. He spent about an hour replacing bad connectors and funky cables and then showed us how to watch the high definition channels. Wow! We sat there watching the History Channel in hi-def most of the afternoon. This could get addicting!

We will be heading back into town today - another Blazer game tonight and then because the weather is going to turn cold and maybe snow on Saturday, we decided to stay there. We will be babysitting for Lara and Greg on Saturday night and then on Sunday afternoon we are planning on taking the kids to see Santa. Also we have been invited to Blazer Christmas party on Sunday night. The forecast still calls for snow that night, and it would really be pushing it to try to go home after the party.

Next week is going to be hectic. My new side-by-side refrigerator and cooktop will be delivered on Wednesday. We had our friend Ray come over and help Dave plumb in a water line to the old refrigerator to see if it will work for the new one and I finally have ice cubes!! It only took Ray a couple of hours to get that done. We should have done that years ago! We’ve been struggling with old-fashioned ice trays ever since we moved in here.

Also on Wednesday, our garden club will be having their Christmas potluck and I have to figure out what to bring. We are also exchanging gifts. Then another trip into Portland for a game on Thursday, a dentist appointment on Friday and then back to attend another Christmas party here in town and I still have to get everything ready for the kids who will be coming down for Christmas next weekend. How does Santa do it?