Weekend

Took the kids skiing Friday at Mt. Hood Meadows. Anne came along and helped with the logistics. Third time this year for Ross, second time for John, first time for daughter. Ross went off and skied by himself. I skied with J & K on the beginners hill. We left the house at 9:30 in the morning and were on the slopes by noon. Because the weather report was threatening rain, we didn't rent equipment till we got to the mountain. $140 for three rentals and four lift tickets for the afternoon (noon till four PM). Four hours of skiing was plenty, we were all worn out. We left the lodge about five till four. It was 20 after by the time we had packed the car and were on the road.

Saturday around noon one of our neighbors came over and told us our cat, Amber, was dead. Seems she had a fatal encounter with a raccoon. Tears all around. She will be greatly missed.

Saturday evening Anne and I went to my cousin John's party. It was quite the deal, live band, food, drink and dancing. Several of John's siblings were there: Kathy, Joe and Eyla, whom I'd never met before. Of course she's a youngster, over ten years younger than me. Kathy and Eyla live up North of Seattle in the resort town of Stevens, Washington. Joe has gotten married since the last time I saw him. He's living in Longview, Washington, same town as his father, Ed. Kristen was there, too, taking a break from her work with migrants in Medford, Oregon.

Sunday afternoon our housekeeper called to let us know she wouldn't be able to come this week. Her father passed away.

Also on Sunday the garage door opener quit working. One of the big torsion springs broke. Had some idle thoughts about replacing it myself, but I couldn't see any way of doing it without taking down the whole spring and pully assembly, it just looked like too much work. Of course everyone will warn you how dangerous it is, but that didn't really concern me. Anyway, called the garage door service and they came out and replaced both springs for $160. Should last another eight years or so.

Yesterday evening a landscaper came over to talk to us about his plan for our backyard. Turns out he has a cat that was a litter mate of our cat. The woman we got our cat from is his Aunt. We have all sorts of mutual acquaintances. His aunt has a couple of pregnant cats, so we should be getting a new kitten in a couple of months.

Movies

Anne and I watched "Wonderland" Friday night, about the last days of the porn star John Holmes. Pretty sad case. Basically the story of a drug-related, multiple homicide, told by two drug addicts, neither of whom can tell the truth.