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IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

We had a great weekend steamboating with our friends in Port Orchard, Washington. We left home with boat in tow last Thursday and made it as far as Belfair, Washington where our friend Sherry DeBoer has a beach house on Hood Canal. Even though she couldn't be there, she was so kind to let us stay there for the night. The next morning we continued our journey to Port Orchard which was only about a half hour's drive from Belfair. Dave spent most of the day helping other steamboaters launch their boats (there were 23 boats in all) and I helped with the registration of the members. We had about 70 people attend. The steamboat wasn't running full speed (the burner wasn't working right and we couldn't generate enough steam to run very fast) so we spent most of the time sitting at the dock, talking to people. We did get to go out with other folks though, which made it nice.

We went out in a boat parade on Saturday and since I was sitting by the boiler and the boat needed wood for the fire, I got to be fireman! On Sunday, the boats that were still in the water went up Sinclair Inlet and rafted up for our traditional "wine and cheese" event. One boat throws out an anchor and the rest of us tie up alongside. It's fun to do. After we got back from that, Dave finally found enough time to get our boat in steaming order. But by then, the meet was nearly over! The boat is so unpredictable and sometime it runs perfectly and other times it doesn't. I think hauling the boat on the trailer for such a long distance doesn't help. I managed to put a nice burn on the back of my leg (I touched something hot on the boat) and Dave came home with a nasty bruise on his leg that he doesn't even remember getting. It was so bad that he ended up going to see the doctor on Wednesday and had to have an ultrasound done to make sure he didn't have a blood clot. He didn't, but he sure has been suffering with his leg.

We returned from our trip on Monday afternoon and I picked up Stanley at the kennel where he had been boarded while we were gone. He was so glad to see me and couldn't get in the car fast enough! He did have a great time with the "sleep-over" and with the other dogs but he was still glad to see me. The next day he got a bath and his bedding was washed.

On Tuesday afternoon, I joined a group and we picked up litter up along the North Fork Road. We call ourselves the "Litter Gitters". I walked both sides of the one-mile stretch of the road that I was assigned and managed to find enough trash for 1-1/2 bags. Among the things I collected were a smashed basketball, some shoes, gloves and a tiny little C-clamp which I gave to Dave. One of the volunteers had spied a couple of decent tires and another scored by finding a dollar bill. All-in-all, we managed to collect around 100 lbs. of trash in a 5-mile area. It just amazes me why people can't be more responsible and store their trash in a container while in their car. We are "adopting" this section of the road and will maintain it for the rest of the year.

We had a little rain on Wednesday night and most of Thursday which we needed. It has been a long time since we have had a large amount of rain and hearing it on the roof top was a comforting sound. Ask me again in February what I think about the rain! Anyway, it gave the ground a good soaking and the good thing was I didn't have to water any of the plants or shrubs.

Last week, I mentioned that our girls and their girls were on a trip to California. Leslie, Ashtin and Paige came home on Monday following Paige's soccer tournament in the Bay Area. Lara and her girls drove on to Los Angeles where they met up with her friend Cari Jo. They left for Monterey yesterday and will visit the Redwoods today before heading back to Oregon. I can't wait to see all of them and hear about the trip!