A Rest-up Day

We were tired last night and actually were in bed by ten PM and were able to sleep in this morning as well. It felt really good.

I was able to do a couple of loads of laundry while we were watching the noon Mariners game. It was a crazy game! After winning last night. 7-4, I think the final score today was 16-4. There were at least three bases loaded home runs. Just crazy!

After the game, we got the tanks drained, then headed over to the grocery store. Forry needed to get more distilled water for his CPAP machine and I picked up a few other things. We were hoping to have Daughter Dawn stop by for lunch today, but when she got to work, she found out her schedule wouldn't give her time. Maybe tomorrow?

Down the River and Through the Mountains...

We got a good start this morning, packing up, bringing the slides in and disconnecting the water and electricity. Leslie and Bill showed up in time to get some good-bye hugs and we were on the road by ten AM. We were soon across the border and heading into Oregon. We took the back road along the river through Hermiston, then picked up I-82.

We stopped at the Pilot near Biggs and added 72.5 gallons of diesel at $2.57 a gallon. Our eight cent a gallon with our RV Plus card gave us a $5.88 discount.

The drive through the Columbia Gorge today was absolutely beautiful. The sun was shining and most of the hills were very green. I thought maybe we'd see some of the mountain goats (sheep?) sunning on the cliffs (we did once), but no such luck. We just enjoyed the sunshine instead of the rain we've often had.

The traffic wasn't anywhere as bad as we had expected. The only time it even slowed was as we approached Portland, but it was mostly on the other side of the freeway. We turned south towards Salem on 205 and made good time there as well. We pulled into Hee Hee Illahee RV Resort in Salem just at 4 PM. We had gotten a call from the office earlier this morning saying they were going to close up at noon for the holiday. She told us she would leave our information packet and map at the Late Arrival box by the front door.

Sure enough, everything was just where she said it be. We had a pull-through site and got hooked up in record time. We did end up moving about six feet further towards the back of the site so that the tv satellite would latch on. I fixed the leftovers we had from dinner at Fujiama's the other night, so that was easy too.

We had a Skype visit with Granddaughter Havela and GGD Kahlyn - and even a few minutes with Ben. It was another good day.

Puppy Love!

We are tired tonight! Our friends Leslie and Bill came over from their motel this morning and we hopped (or climbed slowly in) into their yellow Rubicon for a road trip to Walla Walla. We had planned to have Sunday brunch at one of the new Main Street restaurants in WW. But, everyone else had the same idea. The one restaurant we found that was open had a ninety minute wait!

We ended up at a Mexican restaurant called El Sombrero off the main drag for huevos rancheros. Not exactly what we had planned, but darned good. After we filled our tummies, we headed out to Touchet and Sister Sherry's farm.

Sherry had given each of her three mastiff's a pig's ear to chew on just before we got there, so they were pretty mellow when they saw us. We sat in the sun outside the shop and enjoyed the afternoon. Sherry always has a stack of rags handy for the three dogs who do slobber a lot, but we had a lot of fun with them. Leslie and Bill got a kick out of Keiko San's soccer playing with his bowling ball. He is very adept at racing across the yard with the ball using his feet and nose. Leslie had a great time playing soccer with him, but I think she's going to have some sore feet tomorrow after kicking that bowling bowl.

It was a good visit. Leslie and Bill have heard so many stories of the farm and my sister, and Sherry has heard multiple tales of our adventures with Bill and Leslie, so I think they enjoyed meeting each other and putting faces to the stories. Leslie posted a bunch of pictures on Facebook of her afternoon, especially a fun video of Keiko.

We made the loop back to Kennewick, ate once more, this time at a Chinese restaurant, then returned to the RV resort. It was a good day.

Company!

Due to the three day weekend, we had company today! Our friends Bill and Leslie drove over the pass from Bothell to come and visit us. It was so good to see them!

They arrived mid-afternoon and we had a good visit. Leslie has been working some outrageously long crazy hours and she really needed a break. Like we do every time we see them, we talked and talked, getting caught up on each other's lives. Then we went out to eat at a Japanese steakhouse where they cooked everything in front of you on a large grill. The food was very good and we brought home enough leftovers for a whole 'nother meal.

Tomorrow we'll most likely go to Walla Walla for brunch, then out to Sister Sherry's Farm for a puppy fix. It'll be another good day!

Relaxed

We finally managed the good night's sleep and sleeping in that I have been looking for all week. Forry and his CPAP finally settled back down and we both slept well. It's been chilly the last few nights - enough so that the furnace kicks in every once in a while. That makes for good sleeping conditions.

The park is gradually filling up. There seems to be lots of large trailers coming in for the holiday weekend. A couple of young women in a golf cart came around towards evening and stuck an American flag in the grass at every site.

The couple that were parked in their trailer next to us with their two young daughters packed up their barbecue and lawn chairs, bikes and scooters into their pickup and pulled out with their trailer early this afternoon, but left their SUV behind. It's still parked next to us and the site is still empty. Not sure what the story is.

I am enjoying the longer days. It's almost 8:30 and it's just starting to get dark outside. It's the best part of summer!

Costco!

We've been putting it off for a long time, but I used the last package of meat in the freezer for the stir-fry I made for dinner last night. I had used the last of the frozen blueberries with my breakfast a couple of days ago and there were only a half dozen tablets left in our bottle of mature multi-vitamins. It was most definitely time for that dreaded trip to Costco.

It probably was not the best time to go. The parking lot was full and the carts were being grabbed as quickly as the workers brought them back. The check-out clerk said it probably because we were coming up on Memorial Day weekend and they would be closed on Monday. The Costco store in Kennewick is laid out a bit differently from the other Costcos we've been in. It took a bit of walking to get it all figured out.

I wasn't real happy with the meat selection. Steaks and chops were obviously cut very thick for barbecuing. I would prefer steaks cut about 3/4 inch thick rather then the inch and a quarter thick they were selling. I did get a tray of rib eye steaks and one of pork chops that I separated into individual freezer packages when we got home.

Forry's motive for going to Costco is always to get a Polish dog for supper. I got two Polish dogs, two drinks and two churros that cost me $5.43. I said to the clerk, "Where else could you feed two people for $5.43?" She looked at me and said, "Where can you feed one person for $5.43?!"

Scouting Trip

We went on a drive around the area this afternoon, checking out RV parks in the area. Forry was very sure there was an RV park right along the Columbia River. There may have been one there many years ago, but if there was, it's long gone now.

Back in another life, when I was the administrator at the Ritzville hospital, the hospital district had a management contract with Kadlec Hospital in Richland. I used to come down here to the Tri-Cities with the hospital administrator from Othello (the two hospitals were then in the same hospital district) for management meetings. I swore then, that there was a new freeway every time we came. You should see it now! It must be three times the size it was twenty-five years ago! It's amazing how many BIG houses and buildings there are!

I am tired tonight. Forry had a fight with his CPAP machine last night and ended up coming out to the living room to sleep in his recliner. Worried about him, I got up several times during the night  to check on him. I don't think either one of us slept very well.

Quiet Day

I planned to sleep in this morning, but I woke up at 7 and was wide awake. I laid in bed for a while thinking I could go back to sleep, but finally gave up and got up.  Yogurt and blueberries and granola for breakfast while Forry had his usual breakfast sandwich.

I washed the sheets on the bed and Forry did some work on the hitch, stringing the new cable we got through the side of the bars so it didn't drag. I fixed nachos for supper and that was about the extent of our accomplishments today.

We Skyped this afternoon with Granddaughter Havela and Baby Kahlyn. She getting to be fun to play with on the computer. Now ten months old, she giggles and "chatters" at the computer. She's a little live wire. Havela says she's up to five steps at a time now, she'll most likely be walking by the time we get to see her. Only a little over two weeks to go now!

It was a beautiful day today, sunny and warm. I'll take it!

Traveling Day

It isn't so much the traveling that does us in as it is the packing up and disconnecting and hooking up. Then on the other end, it's the getting set up, unhooking Toad II and hooking everything back up again. The hitch for Toad II is heavy and as it was cold and rainy this morning, the bars didn't want to slide easily. I had to have Forry come do my side as I just couldn't move it, so that I could attach it.

Fortunately, it was only a short run today - 145 miles - from Ponderosa Falls to  Columbia Sun RV Resort in Kennewick. Forry had a totally wrong idea of where the RV park was, and argued with me - and the GPS - all the way through Kennewick. (We had looked at several Tri-City RV parks when we were making reservations and he was sure Columbia Sun was down alongside the Columbia River.) The park is on the other side of Kenniwick pretty much out in the country. It's a beautiful park. Nice wide sites with grass strips in between.

They had an escort in a golf cart who showed us to our site and backed Forry in. He was almost too helpful, trying to assist us to disconnect Toad II. We are so used to doing things in practiced tandem, it almost throws us off when someone tries to help...

It was 49 degrees and lightly raining when we left Ponderosa Falls. The sun was shining and the temperature was in the high seventies when we got to Kennewick! So much nicer. Forry napped until it was time for the Mariners game and supper.

A Very Special Day

I was up early on a VERY damp chilly morning to get a shower in before we left for church. It was raining last night when we went to bed and every time I woke up during the night. There were some pretty big puddles all over the campground. We sort of picked our way around them to the car.

It was a very special day at Menno today. We had two young people being baptized and two others confirming their baptismal vows (they had been baptized as infants in another denomination) today. As we practice adult baptism, it was recognition of their choosing to become part of us. In honor of the baptisms, we also had Communion this morning. As a Mennonite Church, Communion is not something we do very often, only a couple of times a year. As we travel so much, this is the first time we had been home on a Communion Sunday for a very long time.

The other thing that made today special was that our friends Colleen and Dennis were in church. They have been away doing shows for the past few weeks, so this was the first time we had reconnected since we all had left Arizona.

It was also Forry's 77th birthday today! Instead of going out to dinner, we had a wonderful meal at church. Diane's Catering prepared a feast for after the service. She is the Grandmother of the twins who were baptized and designed the menu around their favorites.

Unfortunately, after procrastinating about it all week, we absolutely had to get groceries this afternoon. We detoured back through Cheney and stopped at the Safeway store there. I was very full from Diane's dinner, so it was hard to shop. I know not to shop when I'm hungry, but shopping when you aren't at all may be even worse!

Rainy Day

It was raining when I woke up the first tine this morning about 5 AM. When I got up the second time a few hours later, the sun was out and there were a few clouds scooting by. Soon after we went outside to connect the sewer hose and drain the tanks, it had clouded over again and was starting to rain.

The Mariners game started at one o'clock and it rained throughout the whole game. Luckily, it was only raining here, not in Cincinnati. It was another fun game. Felix was pitching well - got out of a couple of bases loaded messes. Almost like he needed something to get himself riled up. We ended up with a 4-0 shut-out. Nice!

A Rest Day

The cold front that came down from Canada all the way to California, seems to have settled in for a while. Even  with the furnace running, it was chilly in here when we woke up this morning. I've had a sweater on all day. It was overcast with occasional sunshine peeking through as the clouds came and went.

We laid low today, just resting up. We've been in town every day this week and it was time to spend a day at home. I put away the last of the laundry that was finally dry and got supper, but that was about it. I took a nap is afternoon and settled in at 4 PM to watch the Mariners game. It was raining in Cleveland. The infield was covered by a tarp, but after about an hour, it cleared off enough to play. After a bit of a rough start, the Mariners won 8-3!

Thursday

The Mariners are in Baltimore, so the Noon game there meant an early morning game here. It felt a bit strange to be watching baseball while eating breakfast. But it was a nice way to start the day with a Mariners win!

I finished up the laundry this morning, but it's been raining, so things are still not dry.  I had gotten so used to Arizona's dry humidity, that it's hard not being able to have clothes dry and ready to put away in just an hour or so.

We checked out the new coffee kiosk on the corner as you come towards Thomas Mallon Road and Ponderosa Falls RV Resort. We've watched them preparing the lot, building the little building and paving the area since last fall. They finally opened it this month. Forry had a mocha and I had their "special" blend. They do good drinks!

Interesting evening of TV shows. Most everything we watch is having their season finale. Some are done until Fall and I think a couple are finished...

Another Day

Today was another quiet day. We had an appointment in the early afternoon in downtown Spokane. Since we were parked in River Park Square where the theatres are (on the top floors), we checked out the possibility of going to see Jungle Book. But other than one show at noon, there wasn't anything on until 4 o'clock and we didn't want to stay in town that long. Maybe tomorrow.

We did assuage our disappointment with a stop at Ben and Jerry's for ice cream. When I went to pay for parking, I discovered that somewhere in our running around, I had managed to lose the ticket the machine gives you when you come in. I thought I'd just have to pay the full day parking fee of $8, but  I had to fill out a "Lost Ticket Form" with the car description and license number as well as my driver's license. And still had to pay the $8!

Anyway we came home to watch the Mariners game. Unfortunately after beating the Orioles 10-0 last night, it didn't work that way today. They have an early game tomorrow - it's another day!

Cable Connection

We spent time today looking for a place in Spokane could repair or make us a new safety cable for our tow bar for the hitch behind Auntie Violet that attaches to Toad II. I had searched for "Cables and Chains" on Safari and had addresses for five possibilities I found, all out in the Spokane Valley on Broadway.

The first place, Broadway Splicing and Supply, was a bust. The name was brushed over on the building and there was some kind of recycling business there, with bales of cardboard outside. We were luckier the next stop.  The next place on down Broadway on my list was Fastener Inc.  There was a line at the counter, but it moved fast. When it was our turn, I laid our broken cable on the counter and Forry told him we needed another just like it. The clerk gave us directions down the building and told us he'd meet us in the Rigging Shop.

The crew in the Rigging Shop quickly put together two new cables along with new clevises. They had an interesting machine that they said was Navy surplus from post World War II era. It used pressure to close the copper clamps on the cables that made the loops on the ends. It took less then half an hour and cost less than forty dollars. Good service and efficient and pleasant staff!

We got home in time to watch the Mariners 4 o'clock game with Baltimore that they won 10-0!

It's Monday

We weren't very spry this morning. While the rain had stopped sometime during the night, it was still overcast and chilly. That first cup of coffee this morning tasted extra good.

Pastor Mattew stopped by in the early afternoon for a nice visit. We probably chatted for a couple of hours, using the time to share some of the history and stories of the conference with him.

It was a relaxing day after our busy weekend.

Home Again

After a rainy trip home, we arrived back at Ponderosa Falls a little after four. Forry figured it was late enough to stop for dinner, so we made a McDonald's stop (first one this year!) as we turned the corner towards the RV Park.

It had been a good morning. We got back to camp this morning a few minutes before the chapel service. A half dozen more people arrived for the day this morning, mostly from the Warden church. A few of them were folks we hadn't seen for several years. It's always fun to catch up on college careers of young people we first met at Camrec at youth camps.

Cle and Reed had set up a make your own taco bar for lunch with a variety of fillings. We spent more time visiting as well as filling out tummies. I snagged a couple of cans of Pepsi from Cle's stash for the trip home, we loaded up Earl's suitcase and bedroll and were soon on the road. It rained sporadically most of the way back to Ponderosa Falls, with nice showers as we went by the ranch. Even though it is not yet June, I think this rain qualifies as what my Dad used to call "a million dollar rain."

We dropped Earl off at his car in Ritzville and drove on to the RV park, arriving a little after four.  It was good to be back home after a lovely weekend.

Pizza and a Fish Fry

Wha a lovely day we've had! After a good night's sleep, we made it back up to Camp Camrec a little after 9, too late for breakfast, but in time to help Cleon get lunch.  They used large canned biscuits which could be patted or rolled out on parchment paper by each person. Then there was pizza sauce and a variety of toppings. There were chopped onions, diced peppers, pepperoni, Canadien bacon, regular chopped bacon, sausage and a couple kinds of shredded cheese. You put together your own pizza, Reed scrawled your initials on the parchment paper and then they were baked. They were actually quite good.

We spent the after noon visiting and going for a walk. Forry got into a pinochle game with Stan and Earl and Cleon which I think he enjoyed even after protesting he had forgotten how to play...

Dinner was a catfish fry. The fellows set up two fryers outside to do the cornmeal breaded catfish fillets. Cle had coleslaw, baked beans and corn bread to go with. The catfish was really good! As was the whole meal.

Tired and chilled, we headed back to Leavenworth about seven to watch the Mariners game.

Off To Camp

For the first time in several years, we were in the area when Menno planned for their Retreat Weekend at Camp Camrec. After a bit of arm twisting we agreed we would come up to camp for the weekend, but would stay in Leavenworth at a motel.

Last night I got a call from Earl, a late 80s widower from our congregation, wanting to know if he could ride up with us. He's a fun guy and we said sure. Forry did some re-arranging so that we could  put one of the back seats up and have room. We picked Earl up at a friend's house in Ritzville and headed up to Leavenworth.

We met up with a group of Menno folks at The Soup Cellar in Leavenworth for dinner. From there we all headed over to Coldstone Creamery for dessert. We took Earl on up to Camp with his gear, then went back to the Howard Johnson in Leavenworth for the night.

It was our pleasure to find that the motel has RootSports NW on their televisions do that we could settle in and watch the Mariners game.

Groceries

The Scottrade office called this morning and postponed this afternoon's appointment until next week. One less thing to do today.

We spent time with the calendar and computer trying to finalize our plans for the next several weeks. We want to be in Oregon the first part of June as Granddaughter Havela and Great granddaughter Kahlyn arrive on the fourth and Granddaughter Kyra graduates on the 10th with a party on the 11th. We need to leave here on the 23rd of May, so we have a week between then and our reservations in Oregon. We decided we would spend a few days at an RV Park in Kennewick. Like a lot of full time RVers, we don't pay a lot of attention to holiday weekends, so Memorial Day had snuck up on us which is why we had been concerned about making reservations!

Late this afternoon we took the back way into the Safeway store in Cheney and got groceries.  I had to chuckle as Forry was concerned that he was out of both Pepsi and red licorice.

First Day in Spokane

We decided last night to bite the bullet and get our lab work taken care of today. Since we needed to be fasting for the blood draw, we had to remember not to eat breakfast. That also meant NO coffee! I've actually heard that you can get away with drinking black coffee, but I'm old school enough to take fasting literally...

There was no one waiting when we checked into Group Health's lab kiosk. I didn't even have a chance to sit down before I was called in and Forry was called into the second chair about thirty seconds later. The tech was GOOD! She went for my antecubital vein and had her vials drawn before I could even say ouch! The gal who did Forry's was just as good. It was almost a pleasure. Almost.

After picking up some prescriptions at the pharmacy, we drove over to Frank's Diner for a late breakfast. We were seated in the old train car right away. From what the waitress said, it was quite a change from yesterday when they were still dealing with the crowds from Mother's Day and WSU graduation. She said it had been an hour and a half wait. Forry indulged in his favorite, biscuits and gravy while I manage to eat half of the "small" plate of French toast.

We probably should have gone grocery shopping, but at that point we were ready for home and a nice nap. I spent some time looking for a hotel room in Leavenworth as we have decided (Cleon twisted my arm) to go to the Menno/Warden Retreat. It's been a couple of years since we've been at Camp Camrec and I'm anxious to see all the changes that have been made. Since we no longer own sleeping bags, we'll sleep down at Leavenworth and travel back and forth to the camp.

Son-in-law Scott called last night with the sad news that production of the play he has written that was supposed to debut in Bellingham the next two weekends, has been cancelled. He said the "official" reason was that the producer/lead actor had health issues. (We got an email this morning from the producer saying "his blood pressure was dangerously high"...) I feel really bad for Scott. He has been working on this for so long. And for Granddaughter Claire, who had a leading role.

We surrendered to our desires tonight and went into Gordy's Szechwan for supper. We had been thinking about going there Saturday night to celebrate our anniversary, but since we will be in Leavenworth... Gordy's is one of our favorite places. I had read in one of their Facebook notes about the extensive remodeling they had done this winter (new floors, paint, new restrooms and air conditioning!) and was a bit concerned. But the food is as good as ever, the ambience is just a bit brighter.

Monday Moving Day

It was decidedly cooler this morning, which was nice for putting hoses away and getting ready to move. Forry has started doing more of the necessary tasks. This morning he drained the tanks and put the TV satellite down, put the sewer and water hoses away. It's good to have him back to helping, but after having done it all myself for most of the spring, it takes some getting used to. We had bought a couple of folding stools while we were in Moses Lake that are lightweight and easy to carry. Forry can sit while he's doing stuff - makes it easier on his back.

I do have to be more careful and a bit more thoughtful to make sure we get everything done. I tend to be very methodical, doing things in the same order. A couple of times this morning, I went to do something and Forry had already taken care of it... I think we're going to have to make sure we are communicating well!

We had planned to hook up Toad II after we left the campground as the folks across the road from us had their truck parked in front of their site (the sites are short) and Forry thought it would be an awfully tight turn to miss it. But, they were speedier than we were and had actually already left by the time we were ready to go. So we hooked up Toad II right where we were and had no problem leaving.

It was a good thing it's only around a hundred miles from Pier 4 in Moses Lake to Ponderosa Falls near Spokane as we had a head wind most of the way. It wasn't the pleasantest driving for Forry as he fought wind gusts the whole way. We even stopped at the Schrag Rest Area to take a short break.

Since there are so many pine trees in this part of the country, it's often hard to get a site where we can get satellite reception. The lady at the desk assigned us B9, which she said had a clear shot of the sky. But when we got down there, the site was already occupied! When I called the office, she said to let her know what site we end up at. We tried B10, putting up the disk to search for a connection, but after 15-20 minutes of searching, there was nothing. So we made another loop around the park (you can't back up with Toad II attached!) and tried B8. This time we went ahead and put the jacks down and plugged in the water and electricity, thinking that we'd just do without TV if we had to. But it made the connection and we are happily watching the Mariners and the Astros. The Ms are currently leading 5-2, life is good.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

It was a lovely day today. It was nice to receive Mother's Day wishes from all three of our children via telephone. At this stage of our life, it's just good to connect and chat with them for a few minutes. I enjoy catching up on not only what they are doing, but what our grandchildren are doing as well.

Forry was feeling good enough this morning to go out to Menno for church with me. I had been prepared to go alone as I was teaching Sunday School. I'm certainly glad that he's feeling better - and that I didn't get it, whatever it was!

It was not as warm today. There was a brisk wind blowing this afternoon that cooled it down considerably. It was nice enough to enable a short nap.

Another Nice HOT Day

It was warm today. Warm enough that the clothes I washed this morning were completely dry by early afternoon. The grey tank was on the 4th bar when we checked it this morning, so Forry went out and drained it a bit before we took our showers. We did not want to drain the black tank until we leave on Monday (it was only at three bars anyway) and we wanted to be sure the grey water tank was full enough to flush it...

We watched the Kentucky Derby this afternoon and reminisced about walking on the track at Churchill Downs. It was fun to see the Winner's Circle that is only used for this race one time per year. We have got some good memories from our RV travels around the United States.

The Mariners game was on right after the horse race. It was a long one, going to the 10th inning before Robbie Cano hit a nice solo home run to end it.

Forry is still not feeling up to par. He's not as miserable as he was yesterday, but he still doesn't feel real great.

Not a Good Day...

Forry was up about 3 AM this morning with an upset stomach. He was up and down for a bit, then just gave up and tried to sleep in his recliner. When I got up and checked on him, he seemed awfully warm. I took his temperature and it was 101.4... I should have known last night that he was coming down with something. He kept saying he was cold and wanted me to turn the furnace on.

We had company planned for today. Niece Becky was planning to bring Baby Kiera, who we have not yet met, by and Pastor Matthew was going to make a pastoral visit. I texted them both not to come as we certainly didn't want anyone else getting ill. We have seen so many people over the last week or so, it's hard to tell just where Forry might have picked it up. I just hope I don't catch it, whatever it is, as I am supposed to teach Sunday School Sunday morning.

After a day of rest and some ibuprofen, Forry was feeling good enough this evening to eat some supper. I made my first pasta salad of the season, orzo with cucumbers, green onions and tomatoes with a lemon juice and olive oil dressing. On a hot day, it sure tasted good.

Rest Day

Today was a badly needed rest day. Except that I got woke up by the CPAP doctor's scheduler calling to say that he didn't need to see Forry until August. So we went ahead and got that appointment made.

Forry and I did get the RV vacuumed. When we use the regular vacuum instead of the robot, it's a two person task for us. Neither one of our backs like it very well, so we trade off a room at a time. It was badly needed. I even got clean sheets on the bed!

We made a quick trip into town into town late in the afternoon to pick up the mail at General Delivery that Daughter MM had sent. It took a while to get it all opened and sorted. I'll do some filing tomorrow.

I made nachos for supper while we watched the Mariners win another game.

Can You Believe 75 Years?

My Brother Pat thinks he pulled a good one at lunch today.
We met Pat and my nieces, Becky and Ashley for lunch today at a Mexican restaurant in Moses Lake. I thought I was safe from the birthday nonsense as it was lunch, but he managed to pull the birthday celebration off anyway.

Niece Ashley brought her little ones along. Jackson and Peyton are both absolute cuties. Not having been around little ones around, you tend to forget how much fun they are.

The day started off with an early dentist appointment. Niece Becky is our hygienist, so I got caught up with her husband and family. I had a good checkup - other than some nasty plaque on a back tooth. Forry was not so lucky. Besides the chipped tooth we knew about, they found a cavity under one of his existing crowns. So I guess we'll be spending some more time in Moses Lake this summer.

I've spent quite a bit of time on the phone and Facebook today answering birthday wishes. It's been fun!

Busy Day

I spent most of the morning on the computer and the phone taking care of and paying monthly bills. It is relatively fast process compared to how long it used to take me to write checks, address and stamp envelopes and get them in the mail. The credit union's Billpay is one of my favorite things.

The low air light went on in Toad II on our way to church Sunday. Forry wanted to go into the Moses Lake Les Schwab Tire store today to have the tires checked. I did not want to go - there are things I could be doing at home. But as usual, that man talked me into going with him (I never have been able to resist his cajoling...).

The gal at the counter at the tire store said it would be about a fifteen minute wait, but it was more like an hour later when they finally got Toad II into the shop. The poor tech couldn't figure out how to open the car doors with the key fob and had to come get Forry. (It's the kind that all you have to be is have the key fob in the vicinity to unlock the doors.) Once they got it in the bay, it only took them about fifteen minutes to rotate the tires and add air.

We were getting very low on k-cups for the coffee maker, so stopped by Safeway to get some, plus a few other things. We gassed the car, getting 80 cents a gallon off with my Safeway points. We ran into Pastor Matthew in the store and confirmed he will be stopping by for a visit on Friday afternoon.

It was after five thirty by the time we were finished, so we stopped by KFC and picked up a couple of their $5 special two piece dark meat dinners for supper. I hadn't bought very many groceries, so it wasn't too much of ordeal to get them in the house and put away.

It's been a nice hot day today and the Mariners are leading Oakland 8-1 in the 8th. Life is good.

A Lazy Day

After a pretty busy weekend, we laid pretty low today. I spent a good share of it on the phone. I started with our credit union. I had ordered some checks last week and the company had called me on Saturday to say that the numbers on the voided check I had sent with the order were no longer valid. I checked our credit union's website and the routing number was just fine. Thinking that maybe I was being scammed, I called the credit union this morning. Turns out our account number had been changed in 2011! The lady on the phone assured me the remainder of my checks were just fine and usable, and yes, new ones needed to have the new number! I guess it just goes to show how few checks I write anymore, using Billpay and my debit card for almost everything we buy or pay.

Next I made reservations for our next move to Cheney and Ponderosa Falls on May 9th. Then it was online to purchase tickets for our Son-in-law Scott's play "Merely Players", at the Firehouse Performing Arts Theatre in Bellingham on May 21st.

Lastly I started on Doctor appointments and eye exams. I got appointments with our primary care doctor, the optometrist, and Forry's back surgeon. I left a message with the scheduler for his CPAP review and had a debate with the heart specialist's scheduler about the physician we want to see (We liked the physician he saw in the hospital a great deal more than the one we saw in the office beforehand. He gave us his card and said it wouldn't be a problem to change, but the scheduler wanted to get the first guy's permission first...).

I still need to arrange an appointment with Forry's dermatologist, but I think I'll wait on that one until we get back from Granddaughter Kyra's HS graduation.

In the midst of all this, I got a recorded call from our dentist's office reminding us of our dentist appointments TOMORROW. I immediately called the office and said I had the appointments on Wednesday, not tomorrow! The receptionist said she couldn't believe she had gotten the wrong day, then sounded chagrined wondering how many other patients she had told the wrong day!

Celebrating 95 Years!

While her actual birthdate was earlier this week, we celebrated Dorothy's 95th birthday at Menno today. It was quite a party with family and friends there from all over the country. It was nice to see the church so full. Dorothy choose the music for the service so we enjoyed some of the good old hymns. The Men's Chorus had gotten together and they sang "God is Our Refuge and Strength" for her. Another highlight was Dorothy's Great Grandson Brandon playing an organ duet with her Daughter Katharine.

Today also marked the first usage of the new kitchen and Fellowship facility. What a lovely space it has turned out to be! Diane's Catering Crew served a wonderful ham dinner.

I had taught the Older Adults Sunday School class after church this afternoon, so by the time the short program was over and cake was served, I was ready to head home. I was glad we are staying Moses Lake rather than Spokane - it's a much shorter distance to drive!