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June 25, 2010

IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

Summer has arrived and we had our first 80-degree weather. At least they did in Portland, it was more like 70 down here at the coast, but it was still very nice. I looked at the calendar and can't believe that the 4th of July is a week from Sunday! I guess I had better get moving around here so I will have all my projects done before the family comes down next Thursday.

We (I should say Dave) finally dragged the steamboat out and finished patching and sanding the deck this week so that we can get it painted. It has been so cold and wet that we just didn't feel like doing it until now. The entire boat really needs a paint job, but at a hundred bucks a quart for the paint, we'll just do a little at a time. So the deck is the first to get some attention. Dave had to mask off all the brass on the deck and then put another strip of tape between the deck and the white hull so that it will be easier to paint. After the paint dries, we will be scrambling to get the boiler cleaned (sooty, nasty job) and the rest of the boat ready to haul through the streets of Manzanita for the parade on the 4th.

As I mentioned last week, we attended a play at the Barn Community Playhouse in Tillamook called "Sex Please, We're Sixty". It was soooo funny and we really enjoyed it. The play was about a woman who runs an inn and most of her guests were older women who come there trying to relax. Her next-door neighbor is an 80-year old sex fiend who calls himself "Bud the Stud". He believes all of the women return to the inn each year just to see him. Bud is actually played by an 80-year old actor, which makes it even funnier. The play centers around three women who get their revenge on Bud when he tries to "three-time" them. Anyway, it was a very enjoyable play. Oh, and by the way, the theater really is an old barn, and there are still cows in the field right next to it. When we parked the car, there were about a dozen cows standing right on the other side of the fence, watching us all the way into the building! It gives the theater a nice "ambience". Only in Tillamook!

We watched the roofer's work on the church on Friday and all day Saturday. In fact they just were finishing up at 10:00 p.m. when we got home from the play. We only had them "patch" the roof on the south side as that was where most of the damage was and it was harder to do than they anticipated. They tried to match the shingles as well as they could and it turned out just fine. I was a little disappointed that they didn't get the cupola roofed but they were afraid to walk on that part of the roof for fear of damaging it further, so the cupola will have to wait until we do a complete roofing job. The next step will be to finish the inside.

I had to run into see my OB/GYN for my annual checkup. It was mostly just a talk, as Medicare will only pay for a Pap smear and examination every two years. I have been taking a hormone for many years (since my hysterectomy in 1980) but with a very mild dosage. My gyno was trying to switch me to an epidermal patch instead of a pill, because the dosage is more of a steady flow instead of irregular with the pill. Anyway, I have been happy taking my little "crabby" pill each day and I really didn't want to change. I had experimented with the patch several years ago and found that my skin reacted to it. I told the gyno that I would check with my insurance company to see if they would cover the patch. Welllll, after I was told the price ($126.00 for 90-day supply) versus what I am on now ($4.00 for 90-day supply) what do you think I am going to do? Duh!

Speaking of the doctor, I finally decided to have my elbow and knee looked at so I made an appointment for next week to see another doctor. I think I have tendonitis in the elbow and the knee has been locking up on me, so Dave finally pestered me enough about it that I made the appointment with the orthopedic surgeon. Guess what? My elbow and knee all of a sudden are feeling a lot better. But, I will see the doctor on Monday anyway.

Speaking of weird things happening, the other day while I was in town and getting ready to drive back home, the "engine" light came on my dashboard. I was a little concerned so I looked in my owner's manual and it said that it was okay to drive with it on but have it serviced if it continues. That was a scary as I had to drive 70 miles back home and was worried that I might end up along side the road somewhere with car problems. I made it back into Wheeler with the light still on and I had to stop at the grocery store. When I finished and started up my car again, the engine light didn't come on and it hasn't been on since. What happened, I don't know but I am not going to worry about it. I had it up for servicing last week and the mechanics probably were blame.

We are enjoying the antics of our furry/feathery friends. It is so entertaining to watch them. The other day Julio (our squirrel) did the splits trying to get some food from the feeder. We also have a Scrub Jay who intimidates all the other birds. I was watching him the other day, and he was patiently perched at the end of the fence "waiting" his turn at the feeder. I thought that was strange - he never waits for anyone - until I saw who he was waiting for. A Flicker - a big woodpecker that just happens to have a longer and sharper beak than he does!

On Tuesday, our garden club had a tour of four local gardens that belong to our members. It was a beautiful day (the garden gods always watch out for us) and we had fantastic weather. One of the homes we visited was up on a hill overlooking Rockaway Beach. What a gorgeous view of the Pacific Ocean and Tillamook Bay. Her garden was also very nice. After that I had to come home to my garden. It did give me some incentive to go out and do some yard work. I am "almost done" and have one more section to complete before I have made it completely around our half-acre yard. Hopefully, I won't have to start all over again. My vegetable garden is coming along and I have picked my first harvest of snow peas and lettuce. I even have a tiny tomato starting to grow. That's amazing when you consider that we haven't had any summer yet! The crows managed to pull up all my green beans, so I had to replant them and this time I placed a small wooden shingle over the ground until the beans have a chance to sprout.

This weekend we will be watching our granddaughter play an invitational soccer game in Tigard, as we haven't been able to catch a game all season because of our schedules. We'll get right back home because we have friends coming for breakfast on Sunday morning. We haven't seen them for quite awhile and hopefully will be able to get caught up with their lives.