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IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

Here's what is happening in my neck of the woods.

We left early last Friday (6:30 a.m.) so that we could make the two-hour trip to Salem to watch our two oldest granddaughters; Ashtin and Paige show their pigs (Athena and Honey Boo Boo) at 9:00 a.m. at the Marion County Fair in Salem. They are in 4-H and have raised these pigs since February when they just were wee little things. Fully grown and six months later, the pigs weighed close to 270 pounds! The girls didn't win any prizes like they did last year and they were really disappointed because they had worked so hard with their pigs. We were glad we went just the same to watch and support them. That is the way it goes sometimes with so many other kids competing and an out-of-state judge. But when it was time to auction their pigs off on Saturday night, the girls were much happier because they had made a little money so everything turned out okay. That didn't make saying goodbye any easier though. That's always the hard part - knowing that they're going to get to go home from the fair and their pigs won't.

We spent the night in West Linn with our daughter Lara and her family as we had a barbeque to go to on Saturday. The Benson Alumni held a party for the members who were on the steering committee for the reunion a couple of years ago. It was held at this really nice home in West Linn along the Tualatin River. The hostess fixed beef brisket and everyone else brought something. We left the fun around 6:00 p.m.as we had to drive back to Lara's house, pick up Stanley and head back home to the coast.

Sunday we spent most of the day working in the yard. I had purchased a Black Lace Elderberry bush and wanted to get it planted. But, first of all we had to remove a pine tree that was root-bound in an old rotten barrel because we wanted to place the new plant in that spot (in a new planter). We decided to save the tree, so we dug it out of the old barrel and planted it in the ground down by the old church. It still had some life left in it. So between Dave and me, we got that project completed. Because I was too lazy to cook that night, Dave took me into Rockaway to one of my favorite Mexican restaurants, Dos Rocas (it means Twin Rocks but I call it Two Roaches) but they do have great food and Margaritas. We usual try to go to our favorite places after the weekend when all the crowds have thinned out and have gone home.

Dave caught this cute picture of our two feral cats, Tom and Jerry. They are brothers and are inseparable, so if there is one around, the other isn't far behind. Jerry - who is on the bench - is the more playful of the two and here he is reaching around to bat his brother in the head just as the picture was taken. It has been almost a year since their mother dropped them off at our doorstep as tiny kittens. I caught them and had them neutered and slowly over the year I have been able to pet and touch them so they feel comfortable around me. They know who feeds them. They do live outdoors though and that is fine with me.

Wednesday night we went to our usual dinner and movie at the Rising Star Cafe here in Wheeler. We haven't been able to go for a while and they were showing "Some Like It Hot" with Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis. It was a kick, and we enjoyed it. We had the room to ourselves, as a lot of the regulars don't seem to show up as much as they did in the winter.

Speaking of old movies, Dave and I have been reading this book by Katharine Hepburn. It is a story about the filming of "The African Queen" and all of her adventures on location in Africa. It was written like she was being interviewed and she also included lots of pictures. The book was loaned to us by a good steamer friend, Harv Lillegard. He and his wife, along with another couple will be staying with us over the weekend. We have the DVD of African Queen so we might be watching that while they are here. Wheeler is having their centennial celebration on Saturday and those guys have offered to bring their steamboats to Wheeler and give rides. We are having quite the celebration with free cake and ice cream, games for the kids, live music and the hot dog wagon will be here too. I will be helping out with the cake and ice cream.

The fish must be in the Nehalem Bay as we are seeing lots of fishermen and boats in front of our place. It is the season. Some friends of ours who spend every day out fishing have already caught the "big one". It is nice to see the boats out again.

It is going to be a busy next week. I have to run into town on Monday for a dental appointment and to get a mammogram. Then I will be staying in town for a couple of days as Lara is scheduled for her final reconstruction surgery on Tuesday and she will need my help with that. Two of her girls are off to church camp that week so there will only be five-year-old Jordyn to take care of. Then on Wednesday, I have to meet my sister Judy at OHSU for her pre-op appointment with the doctor. She is scheduled for a knee replacement (her fourth one) the end of this month. Dave is going to hold down the fort here in Wheeler as he will be taking care of Stanley and two cats while I am away. Wish him luck on that! Hopefully, I will be back home by the end of the week.