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August 2, 2019

IT'S FRIDAY, MY FAVORITE DAY!!

It's been a whirlwind week! We have had my cousin, Mike and his wife Sheryle and my sister Jeanne and her husband Bob staying with us.

Mike and Sheryle came in last Friday in their motorhome from Henderson, Nevada and we picked up Jeanne and Bob in Beaverton where they had flown in from England. So life has been a little hectic around here. Everyone left this week so it is just back to Dave and me.

We had a nice family reunion on Saturday at the Rood Bridge Park in Hillsboro. There were about 30 people who were there and it was fun to get to visit with them. My aunt Betty is the last of my dad's family still living and her daughter brought her. She lives in McMinnville. I was in charge of putting out the signage, setting up the tables and organizing the food. My cousin, who lives in Hillsboro, reserved the park spot. After the reunion, Bob and Jeanne followed us down to our place and they spent a few days with us relaxing and enjoying the scenery at the coast. Mike and Sheryle had a great time here too and they left on Tuesday to visit with his sister in Reedsport before they headed home.

Bob and Jeanne's friends, Barb and Steve Tessitore who live down at Newport, came up to visit and have dinner this week while Bob and Jeanne were here. They were in Italy for three years and decided it was time to return to the states to be with their grandchildren. It was fun to see them again too. My sister is planning on moving back to Colorado the end of September so they too can be closer to their grandchildren. Bob had a heart attack last fall and they decided it was time to come back home. It is amazing what a serious illness can do to change your mind. He will get better medical care here at home besides.

One of the things Bob, Jeanne and us did was go down to the ocean at a spot near our place. It's only a five minute drive to the parking lot at Manhattan Beach and we can be walking in the sand 10 minutes after leaving our house. It was so nice down on the beach with a light breeze and hardly any people. It is one of our favorite beaches because it is secluded and isn't very well known. So, as usual, it wasn't very crowded. Shhh, it's a secret!

While everyone was here, Bob and Mike helped Dave clear some brush in the back on our church property as we are having a bridge/ramp built to extend from the back window (which will become a door) to the edge of the property alongside the boat barn. This will save Dave lots of walking up the hill from one building to the other when he has to carry stuff back and forth. I suggested we install a zip line or even a swing rope from a branch in the tree instead of the bridge, but he didn't go for that idea! We had the beams delivered from the lumber company that will be part of the bridge. I can't wait to see the bill for those!! $$$ The contractor (our friend Ray) poured a cement slab at the top of the hill to support that end of the ramp as the hill is not very stable and the dirt tends to slough off during the rainy season. I am anxious to see how it will turn out.

We gave ourselves high fives after everyone departed and Dave took me out for fish and chips in Nehalem for dinner. I had been cooking all week for company and he thought I needed a break! The food cart is located right on the river, so we sat out by the shore and enjoyed the peacefulness. While we were there, we were greeted by a nest of swallows. The nest was located up in the rafters of a nearby building and as we walked by, four little chirping heads popped out to say "hi". They were adorable. I normally don't like swallows as they make such a mess under their nest and the constant chirping noise is annoying at times. We have lots of swallows around here!

I picked some Roma green beans for dinner the other night from my garden and also my first tomato. The squash that I planted is taking over the area but my cucumbers are not doing so well. Even so, life is good!

So this week we will get ready for the steam meet which will be in Sequim, Washington in a couple of weeks. Dave is getting the steamboat ready and he hopes to take it to the meet if he can get it ready.