Catch Up Blog

It's been a month since we returned from Palm Springs and since I've posted to the blog. I know this because several of you have mentioned this to me. To say that we've been busy would be an understatement but it's still not much of an excuse.

We have had some fun also though. Much of it was centered around our trip to Coos Bay in mid January. We met Bob & Karen there to celebrate a belated Christmas with Cheryl's folks. We all had a great time and as usual Marilyn cooked a superb dinner centered around a prime rib roast.
Andrew and Brandie brought Calaya by to say hello so everyone got to hold her. We went over to Roseburg on the way back to see their new house and to have lunch with them and Monique, Brandie's Mom.
Calaya was her usual cute self and even gave us a couple of smiles. I didn't catch any on camera. The yawn was the best I could do.
Speaking of cute, we went by to see our other granddaughters and they were very photogenic as usual. Even Lilly got into the picture. Anita is getting close to wrapping up the last paper for her Master's degree.
One of the highlights of the trip was the beautiful weather. Jack and Marilyn took Cheryl and I along with Roxy out to the dunes to do a little hiking. We all had a ball especially Roxy.
Speaking of dogs, you may have heard a rumor that we are finally getting a dog. It's true, his name is Drake and he's an almost 2 years old Yellow Lab. He is currently participating in the Veterinary Technician Program at Portland Community College. They choose 10 dogs from area shelters to spend the school year working with students. They get all their medical work done, get neutered and get some basic training while working with the Vet Tech students. We won't get to bring him home permanently until the end of the school year. We hope to eventually get to bring him home on some weekends. Right now PCC is still working on their home visitation policy so we go to campus to walk and visit him. We pretty much have unlimited access to him as long as he's not helping out in class.

Cheryl and I got a snow day on Tuesday so we took Alex up to Mt Angel Abby for a visit as he continues to explore his future at the seminary/monastery. We all had a great visit but the weather was very cold and windy.

Tonight is the annual Burn's Night Dinner in Florence (Coastal Celtic Society). We were unable to attend this year but Clan Scott sent along a good bottle of Scotch for their drawing. In past years Clan Scott has come away with a lot of great stuff. Some of the clans might even be happy we're not there to win everything this year. I'm sure I'll get a report on how it all went.

That pretty much catches us up. I'll try to be more timely with posting in the future.