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IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

Since I had to be at home for the Tsunami drill we had down here on the coast last Saturday and Dave had a PSU football game to broadcast that same day, we drove into the valley separately. I had a few errands to run first and when I did meet up with Lara and her family, we all headed over to the Harvest Festival at Lee Farms south of Portland. They had all kinds of activities for the kids. They bounced on this air-blown tarp and then they rode on a hayride throughout the farm. Then we grabbed a bite to eat and participated in a couple of cake walks. To round out the evening the kids played in the hay maze and slid down the slide. They were pretty dirty and tired by the time we got them home and a bath was not an option. It was a "spit bath" and bed! I was tired just watching them!!

The next morning Dave and I headed off on our road trip to Sandpoint, Idaho to get reacquainted with my cousin who lives there. I haven't seen her for many years, but we've been in touch with each other while sharing family history. Dave and I tried to connect with her on our way back from Arizona last spring but the weather didn't cooperate, so I have been looking forward to the reunion. I don't remember her while I was growing up as she didn't live near us plus she is about a half a generation (in age) ahead of me. It was about a 7 hour drive but everything went smoothly. It's usually a beautiful drive but this time the air was smoky and hazy from all of the forest fires. I think half the state of Washington is on fire, and Oregon and Idaho aren't far behind! After a late lunch, we arrived in Sandpoint around 4:30 and visited with Ann for while. She was generous enough to give up her bed for a couple of nights while we were there. She also fed us pretty good too.

On Monday, after trading Wyatt family tree information that I had brought with me (her father and my father were brothers) we headed out for some sightseeing. She took us around the city of Sandpoint and then out to the east side of Lake Pend Oreille to a campground that was also a wildlife preserve. The deer were everywhere and were not at all afraid of humans. The scenery was beautiful and weather was wonderful (except for the smoke haze) and hope we can come back again. She was an absolute delight to visit with and the day and a half we were there went by way too fast. We took her out to dinner that evening and the next morning we headed for home. I wanted to keep driving east to see more of this beautiful country but we had to get back home for a number of other things, including Lara's next Chemo treatment on Wednesday.

On our way back, we stopped in to visit with Dave's two cousins, Connie and Pat and their husbands Gene and Teunis and were invited to a wonderful meal with most of the bounty coming from their gardens. We had corn-on-the-cob, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and beets. This is my favorite time of the year. It was a great meal and we enjoyed seeing everyone again.

We found out later that we had just made it through I-84 before they closed it down because of another forest fire outside of Hood River. It is so dry and warm and it doesn't take much to start a fire. Anyway, we made it safely to Lara's place that evening and the next morning she and I headed for her third Chemo treatment. She will have her last treatment in three weeks and then she will be ready for the next phase which is reconstruction surgery in December. She is doing great and is back to work part-time.

We made it back home on Wednesday night and have been catching up with newspapers and laundry. I have to go back to the diet doctor on today and I know that after overeating and sitting in the car most of this week that I am sure I have gained a couple of pounds back. Wish me luck!

This Saturday, I will be at the Alder Creek Farm for their harvest festival. I volunteered to help by working the Master Gardener's booth out there. The gal in charge of it has a conflict, so she brought over all the equipment, canopy, pamphlets, t-shirts, etc. and left them with me. She also gave me four crabs that they caught and so I spent Thursday afternoon shelling crab. Yummmm. Last week, some friends gave us some fresh salmon that they had caught, so we've been doing real good with seafood.