This month's calendar                         Archives                            Our Google Calendar                   

IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

Burrrr!!! I don't know about you but it has been a little chilly outside lately. It has only been in the 40's each day and it has been below freezing each night. But it is January, so what more can we expect. At least it has stopped raining and the sun has been shining for a change. Even my sister who lives in Arizona has been reporting colder weather. But then...anything that is below 60 degrees in Arizona is considered cold. I'm hoping it warms up in the next couple of weeks because we're planning to go down there for our annual trip to the sun in February.

I had a nice quiet weekend which I enjoyed relaxing and reading. Dave was invited to a "guys" scotch party on Saturday night in Portland so he was gone to that. His reputation as a fan of single-malt scotches has spread and so he was invited to the event where a bunch of guys get together and compare their favorite Scottish malt beverages. He didn't have to make a special trip as he had a Blazer broadcast Sunday night so he stayed over and returned later after the game. The roads were a little icy but he put the car in 4-wheel drive and didn't have a problem. I was worried and was still awake by the time he arrived back home.

It was back to water aerobics again this week. We have had a lot of newbies this term and so all the "veterans" are scrambling to maintain their "spots" in the pool. It is kind of funny how everyone has a certain comfort zone that they like to exercise in. Some of the gals are quite social and our poor instructor was losing her voice by Tuesday trying to yell over everyone's conversation. She doesn't mind them being sociable but it gets a little annoying after a while when they forget what they are doing besides exercising their jaws! She finally asked them for a little of their attention. I am one of the more serious students and am also annoyed at how rude some of them can be. It is funny because the ones that are the rudest are retired teachers who probably would never put up with that in their own classrooms.

I had ordered some bathroom towels on line from the Pottery Barn. They were having a big sale plus the shipping was free. I needed new towels and I couldn't resist. Anyway the towels arrived on Monday and they were the wrong color. I immediately called the service department at Pottery Barn and they gave me instructions to place the box of towels on my doorstep and a UPS man would pick them up between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. the following day. Okay, I thought I can to that but I was a little concerned because they told me not to put any address on the outside of the box. Well, UPS didn't show up so I called Pottery Barn back on Tuesday. "Oh", they said, "you need to get a mailing label from us and we will e-mail that to you." So I waited for them to e-mail me a mailing label. No e-mail came so I called again on Wednesday. "We don't send a mailing label via e-mail; the UPS man will furnish that". I was about to give them a piece of my mind when there was a knock on the door. It was the UPS man with a mailing label ready to pick up my package. Talk about great timing! Anyway, what a frustration that whole exercise was. Hopefully, Pottery Barn will get their act together and send me what I ordered in the first place. Stay tuned...

Dave had a city council meeting on Tuesday. After serving for more than four years, he had decided he wasn't going to run for re-election. That decision only lasted a few days before he was approached by some people who asked him to finish out the term of a councilor who had recently resigned. So, Tuesday was the last day of his elected term and also the first day of his new term. He had to be sworn in for another two years. He promises this will be the last of his time on the council. We'll see...

We had to drive back into town on Wednesday because it was time to get my bladder checked for any possible tumors that may have returned (the check-up was good). I thought my appointment was for 2:15 that afternoon, so I dropped Dave off at the Rose Garden early so he could set up his equipment for a talk show and game broadcast that evening. Then I headed back to St. Vincent's for my appointment. I had plenty of time so I grabbed a bite to eat and when I got to the doctor's office I found out my appointment wasn't until 3:15! So I sat in the reception area for a couple of hours (good thing I brought my book) and read. They also had a television on showing different episodes of the "Plant Earth". I finally got into see the doctor but I had to give a urine sample first. The cup they handed me to fill had the wrong name on it so I had to point that out to the nurse. That would have been quite a switch-aroo disaster! Anyway, she took my blood pressure which is normally 120/80 and this time it was 150/80 and I attributed that to my anxieties watching wildlife killing each other on the "Plant Earth" episodes for an hour before my appointment! By the time I got finished with the doctor, my planned schedule for the afternoon was gone. I managed to leave just in time to hit the afternoon traffic going over to my daughter's place in West Linn. I wanted to visit with her for awhile and see the granddaughters. I left there and did a little birthday shopping for my 5-year old granddaughter whose birthday is in a couple of weeks and then dropped by to see my sister Judy. After that, I stopped at Trader Joes and made it to the Rose Garden to pick up Dave by the fourth quarter. I watched the game for awhile and then helped Dave tear down his equipment before we headed back home. The drive home was awful as there was dense fog in many places and you couldn't see past the hood of the car plus there was ice on the roads. But we managed to make it home by 12:30 a.m.

Thursday I got up bright and early after my short night and went to water aerobics before the Park and Rec. Committee meeting at 10:00. I am chairman of that committee so I needed to be there. It was election of officers for the upcoming year but no one wanted to be chairman or secretary so I will be trying to do that for awhile until someone steps forward. We are down to just four members and we really need to recruit a couple more people. It is hard to get someone in such a small town, especially when so many people are already volunteering for other things. We also recognized one of our members who had to resign in December. Faith has been a volunteer for many years and because of illness she has had to step down. We gave her a certificate and flowers in appreciation for all her help.

I am looking forward to a little calmer time next week. In fact, my calendar looks clear so I may just have to do nothing for a change!