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September 8, 2017

IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

We had a great weekend with all the family here. Leslie and Jason and the girls (and Chip) got here Saturday and left after a barbecue on Sunday. Lara and her family arrived Sunday and left on Monday, along with everyone else trying to get home from the coast that evening. It took them a lot longer than usual because of the Labor Day traffic, but they made it. We really appreciated the visit, especially with their busy schedules. So we celebrated Ashtin's birthday which was August 29th and Dave's birthday which was September 3rd. The kids went crabbing and returned with 8 huge crabs. So after cleaning and cracking them, we have been enjoying fresh crab this week. They were able to take the new boat out and it really helped. It used to take them an hour to get out to the prime crabbing area in the old boat. They were there in 15 minutes in this one.

Dave and his crew put out American flags on Wheeler's main drag Friday evening in celebration of Labor Day. The girls have always been eager to help with that project, but since the flags went up before they got here, they missed out this time. However, Dave did have to run downtown to make repairs to one flag holder on Sunday and Jadyn went with him. He got her to pose for this shot while they were there.

We had our heat pump installed last Friday and since it was pretty hot down here, we enjoyed the cool air that it provided. We have had several days of forest fire smoke blowing our way and so we have been staying indoors most of the time. It was really sad that a forest fire was started by some teenagers lighting off firecrackers up in the gorge, burning over 33,000 acres, destroying three homes and closing I-84 indefinitely. It is such a beautiful spot and I have many memories of hiking the trails and camping there. I know in time it will return, but it shouldn't have happened in the first place.

I did manage to get the outdoor wiring conduit for the heat pump painted to match the house color. When they were installed, they were white and really stood out. It was an easy fix and it looks so much better. We are still waiting for the contractor and his crew to show up to put the siding on the church. We managed to order our windows for the house this week too. We are replacing the two utility windows and bathroom window for now. They are all single pane and will be double pane to save on our heating. Besides, I am tired of wiping down the windows each morning during the winter time because they collect so much condensation. We also picked up the bathroom tiles, door and parts for the shower. So there have been a couple of trips to Home Depot this week. Dave also had to take his Ford to the dealer in Warrenton for a shock absorber part which took two and one-half hours to install. Sure seems longer than that when you're in the waiting room. We were on a tight schedule that day and we had planned on no more than two hours, so we were anxious to get going.

We had to make a run into the Valley on Thursday. Dave had an VA audiology appointment for his hearing. He picked up a bluetooth for his hearing aids and they also ordered new hearing aids. He's had a lot of trouble hearing lately and they VA decided it was time to upgrade him to new ones. While we were in town, we met with Ashtin at Red Robin for her birthday lunch. She had car trouble coming up from Salem to meet us and we figured she was low on oil for her car. After checking the dip stick (no oil at all) and adding three quarts, we figured our problems were solved. But it still wasn't running right. Her father drove up from Salem and took the car in to have it checked on the computer and guess what they found out? Spark plugs. There is a standing joke between Dave and me about spark plugs. It all stems back to when he and his dad were working on something several years ago and couldn't figure out what the problem was. Both his mother and I told them to check the spark plugs and were told in no uncertain terms that there is no way it could be the spark plugs. Well, as it turned out, the problem WAS the spark plugs and for years, Lillian and I would always gloat and tell them to "check the spark" plugs whenever anything was wrong. Now, years later, it still irks Dave when I can figure out that the problem is the spark plugs after he spends so much time running down other possibilities. Jason is familiar with the story and that's why he couldn't wait to call and tell us what they discovered about Ashtin's car! I hope new spark plugs do take care of the problem, because Ashtin begins school at Western Oregon University next week and she doesn't need any car problems!

I ran out of room for this photo up above but wanted to include it. This was taken at Red Robin on Thursday when we were there with Ashtin. I think it turned out pretty good of both of them!

Dave has been rehearsing three nights a week for a reader's theater that he is going to be in. The practice starts at 5:00 p.m. three days a week which is usually our dinner time so our meals have been later. I do not like to eat too late at night as it is hard for me to get a good night's sleep. These rehearsals will go on for the next six weeks as the production will not be presented until November.

Well, that's what has been happening in our part of the world. Hope you are settling in for a nice fall. We could use a little rain, but I am afraid to wish for too much. I still have soggy memories of last spring! We did get a few thundershowers last night - just enough to dampen things. It looks like we're going to have more nice weather next week.