We were supposed to be bringing Colin and Henry with us to the beach. But Colin HID twice -- once before Marilyn got home from the office, and again just when we were getting ready to leave.

I got CRAZY trying to find him! There just aren't that many spots for him to hide! But I eventually found him squirreled away under the stairs in the laundry room. And when I tried to move him he hissed at me. I was just shocked! I moved all the boxes around until he finally came out reluctantly on his own. By that point Marilyn and I had decided to let the cats stay home. And instead of staying at the beach house until Sunday, we're coming home tomorrow (Saturday), instead.

That's okay, actually. We'll watch some of our usual shows Saturday night (depending on when we get back to Portland). And we'll go in to the office to WORK on Sunday -- which is just fine by both of us. We have so much to do right now.

I had gotten ready in the morning, except to put on my makeup. But that went to hell with the cats. And Marilyn was pretty fed up with me (deservedly so) by the time I was actually ready to leave. We went the long way (my idea), and we didn't get here until 5:00 p.m. (And we were in Astoria during rush hour, which sucked.)

But it was a nice drive most of the way (with a little rain early on). It was a pretty mild day.

Jeff was golfing in Astoria and joined us shortly after we got here. Then we sat around and talked and drank, and finally drove into Seaside and went to the Shilo Inn where we could sit in the bar looking out at the ocean. We had a bite to eat and discussed work and some changes we plan to make this year.

Then we went and walked on the beach, going all the way down to the shoreline (and the surf was really, really far out there!). And walked back again. I was getting pretty chilled by that point, as it was dark and had gotten cooler.

Then we came home and had more to drink. (smile) Well, I didn't drink any more alcohol, but both Jeff and Marilyn did. And we used On Demand and got the 2016 movie: "Doctor Strange" (with Benedict Cumberbatch). Some of you may remember the actual Marvel Comic book that got started back in 1963. Marilyn and I rarely ever read Marvel Comics (I really don't know why). We were DC fans. (smile)

The movie was quite entertaining and I only drifted off once for a short moment. Hahaha. I'm tired. Yesterday was a big day.

Jeff is now downstairs watching TV. Marilyn is in her bedroom and I'm in our office area blogging.

We don't have an actual 'office' here at the beach house. But there's a LARGE landing at the top of the stairs, just outside my bedroom. We not only have a desk set up (with a desktop PC computer, a file cabinet, printer and two large bookcases, but there's room for an armchair, ottoman and lamp to create a sort of sitting area/reading nook. Believe me, it's a large as many home offices, even if it's not enclosed.

The desk is metal with a green glass top. The file cabinet is made of wood and came from IKEA. It was such a bitch to put together that I gave up on it and had our handyman Ralph do it. Hahaha. The computer is an old one running Win XP, but it has dual monitors. There's an HP printer, but we never use it, so I've no clue if it even works. Hahaha. I could probably scan with it, at least (but don't remember if I ever have).

I talked to Kris in the morning about his invoice and a few other things. And I talked to Donn, too. I had left a message to talk to Rich, but that didn't happen. Hopefully I can work that in on Monday...

Jeff felt he did a good job golfing today. He didn't know for sure, but he believes he lowered his handicap. He's going to play at his regular club tomorrow and enter the information (I don't know what that means exactly -- but that's what he told me. Anyway, that's when he'll find out for sure.

I'm sure the cats are fine. They had plenty of food and water, lights on all over the house and the heat was turned up, so they'll be quite warm. Lately the cold really bothers both of them. Sometimes they get very unhappy during the night or in the morning when the house is cold.

Katie is officially done at the Rose Festival, moving on to a new job. She will be missed, that's for sure. She was pretty amazing during these past six weeks.

Monday Adeena will start as a Seasonal employee, working with Jessica. She'll be writing parade scripts, and I'm the Editor, so we'll do a lot of work together. And she's going to help with the website, too.

Donn is coming in early on Monday to set Adeena's Profile up again. It's still on one of the machines, happily, so he doesn't need to do the actual Profiling. And her machine will go into what is currently Jessica's space (Location L). Jessica will move to Katie's space (Location C). And Katie's machine will go where Adeena's computer is currently (Location W, I think!).

Then I'll re-train Adeena and we'll start talking about the website and other stuff. I'm excited about that!

Jeff, Marilyn and I will have a meeting on Monday with Sheila -- I think we settled on 3:30 p.m. (after a meeting Jeff is having). Sheila had set the meeting (without being asked to) for 1:30 -- but that didn't work for any of us.

I also found out that Sheila set Carol up on Quickbooks -- even though Marilyn had specifically told her not to. I'm not going to say at this point how I feel about this. But maybe you can guess.

There are going to be changes in our future. But things always change, so I guess that's no surprise. Hopefully we'll make changes that will improve the festival and make it easier to do the work needed to run it. I pray we'll make things better, which is always my sincere hope.

Last night I woke up from a nightmare around 5:00 a.m. and went to sit up with Marilyn. She was already awake and on her iPad when I joined her in the family room. (That's often true!) Later I went back to bed, and woke up with TERRIBLE LEG CRAMPS (sigh) again. I was sipping Gatorade all day long. (I should have brought more with me, but oh well. I'm drinking water as I type this.)

Well, time to put on my MELON cream (smile) and head to bed!

I hope all YOUR dreams are happy ones! Sleep well, friends.

Mostly this was a quiet day at home -- which seems right after this past week (and several nights that were long and without sleep). And, yes, it did involve a bunch of sleeping, including sleeping in.

Before I forget, my friend (and neighbor) June phoned to tell me her step-sister had passed (she'd told me previously, so I may have mentioned it before this). Loss is always hard, but it was her time and at least she's not suffering anymore. June also shared that Betty's husband passed, which everyone (including Betty) had been expecting. Again, it was his time to go... Praying for everyone involved with both deaths, of course.

Oh! And June was reminding me (again) about the bazaar dates for Pioneer Methodist church, which are November 11 and 12 (from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.). She had me confused for a bit, as she'd said that was Saturday and Sunday -- however it is Friday and Saturday (as it is every year).

Marilyn and I watched some TV today and played on our iPads quite a bit, doing a number of things (including playing SimCity BuildIt, of course). We didn't read more on our book, though, but that's okay.

We had leftover chili to which we added another can -- we always call that 'chili starter,' because it makes the chili thicker (thankfully!) if you've already cooked it and let it sit in the fridge overnight. Chili used to be thicker straight out of the can, but it's like everything else: It's just NOT as good as it used to be! They've made it 'healthier' (right) by cutting down the fat content, and there's less in a can (like we can't tell that). There's decidedly MORE water in the contents. And believe me, we'd gladly PAY to have thicker and better tasting chili. But this isn't a matter of brands, from what we've found -- it's true for all of them. (sigh) Well, I shouldn't complain. Marilyn did a good job with it and it turned out very nice.

We also ate some hominy, which is high in fiber, if you're wondering. Marilyn is supposed to eat more high fiber food -- and it's good for me, too. And we both love hominy!

We didn't end up having popcorn tonight -- hopefully we will tomorrow... (smile)

So WHAT (you may ask) was the highlight of our day???

We had gone out to go to Michaels. I needed some things from there. But it turns out that in spite of what their website says, they were closed. On the way back home, Marilyn suggested we stop at Starbucks -- if they were open, that is. It turned out that they were open, so we went in and each got something to drink AND to eat. We haven't done this in MONTHS, because of Marilyn's issues, so it was AMAZING to be sitting there enjoying Starbucks, just like two normal people without health issues. (grin)

We just sat and chatted, talking a lot about health and what it had felt like this year to have so many various problems between us (and with sister Sue).

I was wearing my jacket again, ZIPPED UP, and we had to talk over how that felt. I mean, part of me is in such DENIAL about the changes in my body. I can't really believe I'm going to be able to wear my jacket zipped like this. That might sound crazy, but it's interesting to be smaller in my clothes.

And we did talk a bit about age, and how it impacts things. We're both unwilling to let ourselves be slowed down on the basis of age alone. We've never viewed ourselves as old, and we're not ready to go there now, either. But when you're having a lot of health issues and you are older than in the past, you just naturally start to think about aging, and whether it's a factor...

On the other hand, we're close to a lot of people many years older than we are who are VERY ACTIVE. And it's certainly not true that such people don't have their own health issues, because they do! Anyway, we're ready to really make more efforts to be fit and healthier in what we do.

For me, this has been a year where I've really made an effort to change my ways. And even though I've dealt with a lot of illnesses, I think those changes are GOOD.

Anyway, you have an idea of how we were chatting as we sat there, enjoying our Starbucks just like we always used to do! Hahaha.

We're heading to bed soon, anyway. Marilyn is playing Zuma beside me to keep me company while I blog. Nice.

I did get some CHORES done around here today. And I changed the clocks that we hadn't yet changed. It's so strange. We live in an age when our phones and other devices (and computers) all AUTOMATICALLY change, so it seems almost strange when we have to go around changing clocks. And our kitchen appliances that have clocks built in.

Marilyn said to be glad I wasn't in England helping do the clocks at some castle or other, where there are a ton of clocks. I can only imagine! Hahaha.

We both HATE IT when we have to 'fall back' -- it seems so DARK, so early in the day. (sigh) Oh well.

BIG HAPPY NEWS FOR TODAY: Marilyn got additional health results today (on a Sunday, no less!). The biopsies were NEGATIVE, so there's no cancer. (woo hoo) They reviewed some minor concerns, but there are no major issues from the test. (And as I reported before, she doesn't need another one for ten years.) I can't tell you how HAPPY this makes me (but I bet you can guess!).

Finally, here's wishing ALL OF YOU pleasant sleep, wonderful dreams and a healthy week! Looking forward to our 'Marilyn Monday' tomorrow (of course).

First off, it's nearly 3:00 a.m.

I have a stomach ache. Not sure why.

And I'm really, really, really TIRED. I've been tired all day. I know it's just a week and I can get through this, but I can't deny I'm tired. And we have a busy weekend facing us, so I doubt I'll get much rest then, either.

Talked to both sister Sue and June today.

It's crazy at work for all of us right now. Today was City Hall (Staff and the Board goes there every year right before the start of festival), but I missed it. I heard it went well. We also had Kick-Off today (late afternoon/evening) and I also missed that. Again, I heard it went well...

My work on the eNewsletter for Grand Floral Walk? I thought I was pretty well DONE with it last night, but that wasn't the case at all. I was actually pissed off about it, to be entirely honest. I don't know WHY I thought I'd get the clean Copy period for this. Our staff can NEVER do anything without tweaking and tweaking and tweaking. Over and over and over. It's been one of my main frustrations in my work for years now. I'm surprised we're EVER done with something! We're notoriously bad at letting go of a product and calling it good.

Turns out that aside from all the Copy changes (and -- surprise! -- yet another logo change) that there was an issue with the bullet coding! I actually found that REALLY INTERESTING. I kept looking at my code for the bullets and trying to reason out WHY IN HELL it would display correctly after it went through our eNewsletter service...

The good news? I finally reasoned it out! It was about the code that's specifically for devices (mobile coding -- for cell phones and tablets). If you code, you've never seen coding this crazy to make a simple <li> (bullet) display right!

Here's an example:
<li class="iOS" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif;margin: 0;text-align: left;color: #414042; font-size: 17px;line-height: 22px; letter-spacing: 0em; font-weight: normal;">Giveaways at the start and finish areas</li>

THIS IS JUST GREAT!!! More than HALF of my blog entry has disappeared!!! WTF???

Wow, I wish I remembered all of the rest of this. I guess I'll just have to try and recreate it... Seriously??? Thanks, LJ. Thanks.

I know I mentioned more about the eNewsletter, but I can't recall exactly what. Let's just say that I wasn't all that happy about the way things happened. And by the way, when you're expecting a lot of additional work to be done, perhaps you might be respectful in dealing with people. Yeah, I'm only a volunteer, so my time is all free. But still. (Of course, we can all afford to be respectful ALL OF THE TIME, regardless of our expectations.)

I was hard on Marissa today -- but apologized more than once. She's amazing and I love working with her. And knowing her. She's always pleasant and supportive and warm.

Today was the day staff and the board go to City Hall right before the start of the festival (an annual event). I missed it. I heard it went well. I also missed the Kick-Off event today. I heard that went well, too.

I spent hours doing what any teenager could probably do in half and hour (or less). Here's an example of the video work:
1) Finding ways to download video from online (they don't make this easy, by the way, as they don't want you to do it!)
2) Finding ways to convert the format to .wmv (which is necessary for using it with PowerPoint)
3) Finding ways to clip video shorter

Then often when I clip a video the software will change the format -- and I have to convert it all over again!

Guess what? A very DEMANDING Henry just got in my lap here at the computer. He probably wonders WHY I'm blogging all over again (so do I!!!). He's purring like mad.

Gee, it's now 4:00 a.m. And no hair colored. Clearly it's not happening.

I had a ton more, about what's up with Henry and Marilyn's long, long day. But I'm now toast and quitting this. I just can't rebuild the damn entry. I'm too annoyed and too tired.

Good night.