This month's calendar                                 Archives                   

IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!

January has come to the coast with a vengeance. We have had a lot of storms over the past few days with winds of 25+ mph and rains so hard that at times I couldn't hear myself talk inside the house. It doesn't help that we have a metal roof either! There were a couple of times when - during high tide - we couldn't see the island out in the river because of all the water. Even the wildlife had all gone into hiding or else were blown away by the wind. I gave up trying to keep the bird feeders hung, as the wind was too strong.

So, did you make any New Year resolutions? I am back on my eating healthy and exercise program. I managed to keep off the 25 pounds I had lost before the holidays, but now I am at a standoff with the scales and neither one of us is budging. I started back with my water aerobics classes this week. Our instructor was on vacation for four weeks in Costa Rica and she came back with a nice tan and full of energy so we have been trying to get back where we left off before my surgery and the holidays. It is good to get back into the routine though. After I finish with my water aerobics, I have been coming home and working on the Wii Fitness for another half hour. I was doing pretty good until yesterday when I must have pulled a muscle in my back.

Not much different to talk about this week. We went into town last Friday for a Blazer game. The Blazers were playing the Lakers and it was quite a game as the two teams are rivals. The Blazers won, even though they are short-handed with all of the injuries that they have had. Then on Sunday the Blazers played Cleveland and my favorite NBA announcer was in town with the Cavs. Normally, I usually show up at the games just before they are over, but I wanted to see my buddy Joe Tait. So I sat up with him and listened to him do his broadcast for the second half of the game. I had to come and pick up Dave after the game anyway as we were heading back home. We got home around midnight and it was a short night, as I had to get up and go to my exercise class the next morning.

Since I didn't care to venture out into the "storm" this week, I have been busy cleaning out my files and getting my tax stuff gathered up. Yeah, April 15th will be here before you know it!! I try to do this in January so I can start the year off right. After getting rid of papers I don't need anymore, I then get the lucky job of shredding. Between Dave and me, we shredded about three garbage bags full and then burned them. What fun!!

Dave loves his "new" 2003 Chevy Suburban. He drove it into town on Wednesday for another game while I stayed at home. It gets better gas mileage than he expected (twice the old one!) and is a whole lot better than the '89. It also handles a lot better than the old Chevy and is easier to drive. We hope to put the "for sale" sign on the old Suburban soon and hopefully we can find a buyer.

We did have one dry day this week so I got out and washed the Jeep. It was so dirty that I had to wash it twice! It looks so nice and clean but I know it probably won't last for long as the weather is going to turn nasty again. I didn't want the Jeep to feel neglected since we got the other car!

I've been lucky so far with jury duty. With the exception of that first day when I was excused, there haven't been any jury trials scheduled. So the next time they get a shot at me is the 19th. Even though I haven't had to serve, it's still a major pain because I can't make any plans for the day until I check in the night before to see whether my number was picked. That kind of cramps my style!

Lara and her family will be down this weekend. Monday is a holiday and the girls aren't in school and she has the day off. They haven't been down to our place since last summer, so it will be a nice relaxing weekend for them. If it doesn't rain too hard, Greg is going to do some shrub trimming and tree cutting for me. I am looking forward to having them visit.

No pictures this week, but I'm sure that with a houseful of grandgirls this weekend, I'll have plenty for next week!