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IT'' FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

I thought spring was here but to look outside you would think that Mother Nature has other plans and isn't going to let winter go away without a fight. It has been pouring down rain most of the week with strong wind gusts. We were given a teaser last weekend because it was beautiful with temperatures in the high sixties, but it sure didn't last!

The weather was so nice that we took the opportunity to clean up the debris left over from the bushes and brush that we had cut down. While we were in Phoenix, a friend's husband came by and cut down this monster bush beside the street that was getting out of control. It sure looks bare on that side of the yard, but once we have it cleaned up, we will plant some new shrubs that we will be able to control. Meanwhile, Dave and I hauled off four flatbed trailer loads of stuff to be burned and we were both pretty tried by the time Sunday evening rolled around. We still have a couple of more loads to go and as soon as the sun comes out again we will tackle that project once more.

Our water aerobics instructor was at a seminar all weekend so on Monday morning she had all kinds of new moves for us. I have been going to water aerobics now for over five years and it is always nice to break up our routine. I really enjoy going and once I have worked out for an hour and get all my body moving, I feel great the rest of the day. It is the best way to start your day. A while back our group had our picture taken for a brochure that the NCRD was printing out to advertise all of their activities. They also published it in today's paper. We scanned it out of there, that's why the quality isn't so great. Can you spot me in the picture?

I am a Red Cross Volunteer and so the other day I got this call about a house where four people lived burning to the ground. The main office asked if I would help with the paperwork so that the victims could receive some assistance from the Red Cross. That wasn't a problem for me because Dave was gone anyway. I hadn't done this before and needed the experience. I thought that it would only take about an hour and it turned out to be a four-hour project. Normally the people in the homes are related, but in this case it was four unrelated adults living together and so each required separate paperwork. It was sad to hear their story as they lost everything they owned. They were all young people and I felt so sorry for them that I wanted to take them all home with me. Luckily, there were no injuries but one of the girls lost her cat in the fire. I thought about them all the next day and am so thankful for what I have.

We had to run to Seaside to see the eye doctor for appointments on Thursday. Dave for his annual checkup after his cataract surgery last summer and I wanted to see if I could still see. My vision has been getting worse and it had been a while since I have had my eyes checked. I have mild cataracts but not bad enough to have them removed. So we both had our eyes dilated and then had to drive back home. Talk about the blind leading the blind! That was an experience! Luckily the sun wasn't out, so it wasn't that bright of a day. It was my first time with this doctor, so I came prepared to fill out the usual forms where they want to know my entire medical history. I had made a list on the computer and so all I had to do was print it out and take it with me. I just hate sitting in the doctor's office trying to remember every surgery I have ever had and how to spell all the medications I am taking, so I came prepared. Dave wasn't so lucky as he didn't know that he would have to fill out the same information again and was a little perturbed about it. Why can't they just look back at last year's records when we tell them everything is the same? Anyway after throwing a hissy fit, he was excused from filling out the medical info and had his eyes examined anyway. Since we were out and about, we stopped at Safeway to pick up a couple of things and then to the Credit Union for savings bonds for a couple of the grandgirls who have birthdays in the next month.

This weekend we will be making a quick trip to Seattle for the annual Steam Society luncheon. We will leave early to be up there by noon on Saturday and then drive back to West Linn later that afternoon as Dave has a broadcast on Sunday. I will drop him off at the Rose Garden and pick him up after the game, as we will head for home that night.

I just thought about setting our clocks ahead one hour this Sunday. I sure don't look forward to that and I wish we could skip Daylight Savings Time altogether. It is such a pain to reset all the clocks in the house and then adjust your personal schedule to fit the new time. It takes me about a week to get back on schedule. Either leave it on Standard time or go to year'round Daylight time! One nice thing though is that my sister Jeanne lives in Arizona and is on Mountain Time, but they don't switch to Daylight time and so we are on the same time schedule during the summer months.