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IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

I have to start this week by beginning with last Friday and report on the pig 4-H project showing of my two older granddaughters, Ashtin and Paige. We got up early and drove to Salem to the Marion County Fair where the girls were showing their pigs at 9:00 a.m. This was the first year for Paige and she did really great with a reserve championship! Ashtin who has been doing this for three years and got reserve champion last year didn't do as well. Apparently, the day before when Ashtin was showing her pig for the marketing exhibition, another pig attacked her pig and hers got the worst end of things. Poor "Beast" came out with a bloody ear and bites all over his back. Leslie thinks he remembered the episode the following day while they were in the exhibit pen and didn't want any part of it. As you can see from the blurred photo, Ashtin had a heck of a time trying to keep him from running for the exit gate! And when the pig weighs twice as much as you do, it goes where it wants to go. She was a little disappointed in the whole affair. The pigs have gone to market by now so the girls can make plans to do it again next year.

After we got home, Dave decided that he was going to put the steamboat in the water to test it out before the Summerfest this weekend in Wheeler where he is giving people steamboat rides. We also had our old friends Stan and Terrie from Florida stop by on Saturday to spend the night so they helped with launching the boat. After the guys launched the boat, Terrie and I met them down at Kahrs' dock where we celebrated the event with pizza and wine. They drove all the way from Florida and stopped at many of the National Parks along the way. It took them about ten days to arrive here from Florida. We had a real nice visit with them while they were down and it was great seeing them again.

I have been working on a major project out in the yard. I pulled weeds and cut down brush from the bed that runs the length of our property alongside the street. It gets so unsightly and hard to keep it free of weeds. This year I decided I was going to get serious and after it was weeded, Dave and I spread twenty bags of bark dust down to hopefully manage the weeds. Before spreading the bark dust, I also put some chemicals down to kill what weeds I didn't manage to pull up.

On Wednesday we headed back into town as I had to go to the urologist to have my bladder checked. Good news! There are no signs of a returning tumor so I don't have to go back to see the doctor for six months.

We were spending the night in West Linn as on Thursday, our daughter Lara went in for her mastectomy. She has such a good attitude about this surgery and we are so proud of her. Just before the surgery, we all gathered in the pre-op room. With Lara, Greg, the three girls, Leslie and us, there wasn't too much room left over! The surgery went fine and there was good news as the doctor checked her lymph nodes and didn't find anything suspicious. There will still be a complete report from the lab on that and we won't know the findings for a couple of weeks, but it looks good for now. She will come home sometime today and I will take care of her all next week until she doesn't need me anymore. The granddaughters will be down at their Aunt Leslie's attending a church camp for the week so things should be pretty quiet around the house and Lara can recover quietly. On August 3rd, Lara will have the other breast removed and then will have reconstruction surgery. Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers.

As soon as we got to West Linn, Jaysa announced that she had lost yet another tooth. I remember a couple of years ago when that was such a frightening thought for her. Now, she's popping them out of her mouth all by herself! Of course, it went right into her "tooth fairy" box so she could trade it for some silver! I think she's about done losing teeth. I hope so, there aren't many left to come out and the piggy bank is getting full!

Meanwhile, the Summerfest is going on this weekend in Wheeler and Dave had invited other steamers to join us. We had two other boats respond so we will be hosting them for the weekend. So after we check on Lara today, we will head back home to host them. They will be staying at our place so that means fixing meals for everyone. I wouldn't mind too much except I feel I should be in West Linn taking care of Lara. Luckily, Lara and Greg have a good support system and will be able to find help in a pinch.