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IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

I had a wonderful 4th of July. The weather was perfect and all the family was together. I couldn't have asked for a better time. As usual, we got the steamboat all spiffed up for the parade and our good friends Ray and Charlene joined us. Ray drove the car while the rest of us sat in the boat waving at the crowds while Dave enjoyed tooting the whistle on the boat. After the parade we all met back at the house and barbequed hamburgers and hotdogs and sat around enjoying ourselves. After dark, the granddaughters wanted to go over to Manzanita to watch the fireworks on the beach while Dave and I opted to watch them from our deck. Well, Dave watched them from the deck as I didn't last long after they started and headed for bed. Sometime after the parade, someone dropped a couple of nice photographs off on our doorstep - one from each of the last two parades. This one is from this year. I wish I knew who took them because we'd like to thank them!

After everyone left on Sunday, it was time to get back to business around here. I managed to spend time out in the yard pulling weeds that had overtaken my Escalonia plants while we were gone on our trip. They completely took over the area during that month and it was hard to see where the bushes began and the weeds ended! Fortunately, the ground is still pretty soft and it only took a day or so to get things looking good again. I think we got those shrubs into the ground just in time because they are all blooming right now and it seems to me like I can even see where they've grown! After the shovel work, I torched the rest of the weeds in the lower driveway with the big propane flamethrower. It didn't take much to get those weeds burning as it has been very warm and dry the past few days. I kept the water hose handy just in case the flames got out of control. I am sure that it is illegal to burn this time of year and was expecting some official to pull into the driveway and give me a ticket! I lucked out though and was able to get the burning completed. I probably shouldn't push my luck though - I think the torch is done for the season!

Today, Dave and I are heading into Salem to the Marion County Fair to watch our two granddaughters, Ashtin and Paige show their pigs that they raised this year. Last year was Paige's first time and she took second place in her age group. All she needed to do was show that beautiful smile of hers to the judge and he didn't have a chance not to pick her. Anyway she named her pig "Honey Boo Boo" which makes me laugh. This is Ashtin's fourth year showing - I'm anxious to see how both of them will do this year. They had to spend part of the week getting their pigs ready to show, and that included giving them baths. It looks like there were two different views on that little chore! After the competition, we will spend Friday night in West Linn as we have a barbeque to attend on Saturday. Dave's alum committee from his high school reunion is having a get together. The weather will be great and it should be a lot of fun.

We had to make a trip to Astoria/Warrenton on Thursday. We had made an appointment with the Jeep dealership to have a couple of things checked that were on warranty and recall. The recall couldn't be done because they didn't have the part and didn't know when they were going to get it in. If they made the parts in the USA, I don't think there would have been a problem. The other warranty was on the drive train and as it turns out, we didn't get the Jeep in for an inspection on time and now the warranty has expired. That is partly the dealership's fault as I had received the notice a couple of months ago and when I was in to get the oil changed last time I mentioned it to them and the manager told me that there was "no hurry - make an appointment the next time you come in". Well, needless to say, we had 60 days from the 5-year date and now we've missed it. So now I have to haggle with the Chrysler people to see if we can get our warranty reinstated.

While we were in Astoria/Warrenton, we took care of a bunch of errands. Dave wanted to buy some boat stuff at the marine supply; I had to order three sheet cakes for our City's centennial, stop at Petco and then our last stop at 7-Dee's Nursery to pick up my birthday present from Dave. I have been wanting a Black Lace Elderberry tree and they had some. I fell in love with this plant on our walk around Wheeler where there I spotted one by a shop. It is really a beautiful plant with black lacy leaves and white blossoms on it.