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January 5, 2018

IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

Before I turn the page to the New Year I have to take a moment and reflect on the past and think of all the things that happened. My gratitude for having so many things to be thankful for are plentiful and the first thing that comes to mind is my wonderful family. I am so proud of all of them. I am also glad that I live in such a beautiful part of the world. To get up each morning and admire the beautiful view from my windows, the Nehalem Bay, mountains and the surrounding wildlife is so amazing. All of these things are not taken for granted and I am thankful for everything. It has been a year of sadness too. We lost Dave's cousin's husband in Scotland in November. He was a fisherman and apparently fell overboard and drowned and his body was recovered several weeks later. Our son-in-law's brother was killed in a car accident in December which brought sadness to our hearts. Life is so short and remembering to be kind and loving to everyone is my new year's resolution.

Now, what else has been happening?

I had a wonderful experience when Dave and I went to listen to the Celtic sounds of the Magical Strings who entertained us at NCRD's Performing Arts Center in Nehalem. This family is so talented and everyone played at least three instruments. Some of the melodies were originals and were inspired while they were in Ireland. They even brought along a couple of their grandchildren who performed the Irish dances. It was such a great evening and it brought back memories of our trip to Ireland.

Since we had this monstrous moon the other night and Dave was up to see it, he took this great picture. It was taken about 3 in the morning and the moon was reflected in the bay. The month of January is going to have two full moons so if you are inclined, watch for them - or at least the second one this month - the Blue Moon on the 31st.

Guess who showed up on Wednesday? Our good friends Luis and Alexis to finish up with the projects that they had started last week. It is always a surprise to see them as they don't always show up when they say they will. Anyway, they made a handrail for the stairs that lead down to the church. It will make it easier for Dave and I to use the stairs and be able to grab on to something. After I fed them dinner, they headed home but said they would return the next day. They were working at our neighbor's house, but Alexis took time to paint the handrail and help Dave hang some lights in the church.

For Christmas, our 12-year old granddaughter, Jaysa gave some photos that she took last summer while on a road trip to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. She really has an eye for photography and we admired the photos so much she had them framed and gave them to us. We don't have much wall space in our place because of the windows, but we managed to find the perfect place to hang them.

Speaking of granddaughters, I mentioned last week that Lara and her oldest Jadyn, were headed for Florida where Jadyn's group was going to dance during the halftime show at the Orange Bowl in Miami. They had to go a few days early so the girls could rehearse with the event's choreographer. There were 500 dancers from all over the country, so putting it all together was quite an undertaking. We ordinarily wouldn't have watched the football game, but we watched it on the slight chance that we could catch sight of her. Well, they didn't show much of the halftime performance and when they did show it, it was mostly the main star of the show, not the dancers. But we have been watching our recording of the event just trying to find her in that crowd. We'll let her watch it with us sometime and see if she can find herself! Anyway, Lara and Jadyn had a great trip (except for the airlines - but that's another story) and made it home safely.

The floor guys showed up the day after New Year's, ready to finish the floor in the bathroom. Our contractor had been sick all week but he managed to drag himself out of his sickbed and come over on New Year's day and get the floor prepared. He replaced all the old particle board with new plywood. He and Dave also had to remove the toilet. Well, he wasn't feeling well, so he left early and Dave finished laying the rest of the plywood so we would be ready for the flooring guys the next day. It really turned out well and I am so pleased with the whole project.

I got all the Christmas decorations put away but instead of storing them in the attic, I put them down stairs in our storage room. I just can't climb around up there like I used to. The house looks so dull with all the decorations put away.

That's the news our way. We hope you have a healthy and happy New Year!