Bazaar at fairgrounds this Saturday, 9 a.m.

LESS INTENSE--As this work week begins, the weather is a little calmer than it has been, but then, it wouldn't take much considering last week was just totally wild! With flooded roads, a tornado in Battle Ground, local roads and highways closed from water or slides, plus major highways, like I-5 in Woodland closed due to a huge slide, and Hwy 12 closed indefinitely, plus many accidents that were water related, well, it was just a ridiculous, wild and crazy weather week. There were even sand bags used on Puget Island at some homes, so the water was definitely wreaking havoc in our area. While this Monday saw blue skies and sunshine for awhile, I see that more rain is due for this week, and some of it is said to be pretty heavy, especially on Thursday. I just hope that it doesn't come along with the wind, thunder and lightning, high tides and more flooding as I think we've had enough "fun" prior to Christmas!

READY?--Again, this last round of nasty weather was a good test for how prepared we were to deal with these kinds of weather related incidents, so I hope you came through it all right and if not, it's time to take steps to ensure that you're ready for the next one, as we all know, there will be another time; it's just a matter of when. Even though there are some things that are just totally beyond our control, it is still up to each of us to be as self-sufficient and prepared as possible.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those who are celebrating birthdays from Dec. 17-23 are Melanie Quigley, Breanna Smith, Erik Anderson, Alysha Twiet, Angel Brown, Riley Brown, Ron Hendrickson, Rhiana Hendrickson, Kristen Souvenir, Tyson Webb Foster, Kellie Kay Masters, Jimmie Lou Cleveland, Donna Olsen, Hillary Price, Gwen Gorley, Wendy Lechner, Jose Castillo, Linda Price, Kimmie Wright, Don Seaberg, Sherry Stewart, Barbara Moore Johnson, Emma Pedersen and Ron Clement.

Celebrating anniversaries this week are Roger and Jo Reed, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Stanley and Brian and Misty Havens. Enjoy those special days everybody!

BB TONIGHT--The Mules will play basketball tonight, Dec. 17, at home against Napavine. JV games begin at 5:45 p.m., with the varsity team playing after that, which is usually about 7 p.m. They won't play again until Dec. 30 in Naselle. The Lady Mules will play at Napavine Friday night, Dec. 18. Good luck to our Mule teams!

OUT OF THE LOOP--If you're an avid Facebook person or Linked In person and I have been ignoring your requests, rest assured, it's not on purpose! However, due to an old, non-accepting new stuff computer, I cannot access many of these sorts of sites, so for now, I remain "out of the loop."

CANCELLED/RESCHEDULED?--If you came to Skamokawa to enjoy a great lasagna dinner, Santa Claus and music at the Skamokawa Grange Hall last Saturday, you might have been shocked to see a "lake" where their parking lot should be, so sadly, this event could not take place. As of this writing, (and my deadline) the grangers had not met to decide whether to reschedule it to a New Year's dinner or not. For grange information, contact Grange President David Blalock at 360-747-8040 or Carol Blalock at 795-8729.

BAZAAR THIS SATURDAY--Also due to the high water, the bazaar next door at the fairgrounds could not be held last Saturday, as it was definitely "knee boot time!" However, with no control over mother nature, and these things often happening at the worst possible times, it's just something we have to deal with around here, but with a little luck, the Christmas Bazaar will take place this Saturday, Dec. 19, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Keep your fingers crossed that there will be less rain and lower tides this week so that you can come down and check out all the holiday goodies for sale at the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds in the Youth/4-H building. For those of you who haven't been down there before, it's the big building off to the left after you come through the gate and past the bleachers.

COMING UP--Not only is Christmas coming up next Friday but New Year's Eve is just around the corner so be sure to check out all the dinner specials and an evening of fun at the Duck Inn in the next couple of weeks! There's always music and dancing and prizes and more on New Year's Eve in Skamokawa so we hope to see you there! Call 795-6055 to reserve a table.

MANY GUESTS--John and Mary Gustafson were once again, supreme host and hostess, as they held their annual holiday gathering for their friends last weekend. With a fire blazing and plenty of food and snacks spread throughout the house, the guests wandered from one room to the other visiting and munching along the way. It seemed there was a new group coming and going all the time, so conversations varied from politics to opera, to holiday functions and weather, so there was always someplace amongst the crowd that you could stop and put in your two cents worth! Those friends who came from the Seattle area and beyond were guests for the weekend, so a good time was shared among the group by playing some cards, getting caught up with the goings on of the past year and of course, more good food to top off their stay.

GREAT TIME--In spite of some wind and rain, some of the members of the Pedersen/Pederson/Everest clan got together last weekend at the Norse Hall. The way things were going, I was thinking we would be down in the low teens for attendance but we had 26 people show up for the ham, chicken, brisket and everything else dinner and we had a good time. I enjoyed my new hot pad runners that were made for me by my neighbor, Sheran Parker, as they really were pretty and functional too. The get-together wasn't real long as some of us older folks like to travel back home while it's still light, but that was okay, as at least we touched base with each other for a little while. For me, I was glad all three of my kids were there, Pete, Lisa and Brian and four of my six grandkids, so a big plus for me personally. One of the surprises was when grandson, Austin Good showed up, as I knew his Christmas break was later on, so I didn't figure he'd make it, and I was pretty tickled that he did!

Those in attendance were Gene and Karen Healy, Donna and Glenn Palmer, Frank and Carolyn Pedersen, Mark Pedersen, Sherry Stewart, Paula and Oly Olson, Jack and Marlise (Pederson) Levering, Pete Sechler with sons Kyle with Suzy Ekstrom, and Luke, Lisa Sechler, Robin Robbins, Brian Good with sons, Austin and Bryce and his friend, Gage Horman, and Teed and Joannn Prestegard, as well as hosts Kay (Pedersen) and Bill Chamberlain.

December is also a busy time in our family for birthdays, but due to the holiday season, they often take a back seat to all the Christmas doings, so we want to be sure to recognize our family members who have December birthdays. They are Mark Pedersen, Gabriel Pedersen, Steve Finkas, Barbara Johnson, Sherry Stewart, Ron Clement, Toby Bell and Frank Pedersen. Here's hoping they get to fully enjoy their special days as well as the other two celebrations this month!

VISITED MANY--While the Pete Sechlers were down from Seattle, they also met in Longview with a couple of Pete's school friends, Pat Shanahan and Henry Pype, so many stories were shared of their youth while they enjoyed dinner together, and many laughs erupted from the group as their escapades of by-gone days were unfolded. Pete and his crew also stopped by his Aunt Peggy's house to drop off some of her favorite chocolates, as she couldn't make the party on the Island, so they had a brief visit as well. Pete's wife, Katie (Nollan) and son Blake could not attend the festivities here as they are still operating the Season's Cafe inside Swanson's Nursery in Seattle, so with this super slammed holiday season upon them, they couldn't get away. Daughter Tessa was still clear over at WSU, so she couldn't make it either, but hopefully we'll catch up with them during the holidays sometime.

NCWPD--So, do you know what Dec. 28 is? Why, it's National Cross Word Puzzle Day! Check out your local papers for possibly a special puzzle to solve on that special day.

OUT OF THE PAST--This week back in 1950, the weather consisted of warm rain for most of it, with the last day being a "nice warm, just lovely" day! At the first of the week, Grandma Elsie Everest headed to Seattle where she got to visit with her sister Jean Shane and her family. Also joining them was Shirley Walker who flew up from Long Beach, California. Pat Ballard took Grandma shopping and then they ate at Fredrick and Nelson's, along with Bob and Barbara Shane. And what were they serving up there for dinner? Elk! You don't see that these days! Later on in the week, Grandma returned home and found that daughter Marian had the whole house done up in Christmas, so that was nice to come home to. Also, they received many holiday cards but one was especially dear to her heart, as it was sent anonymously, which included a $100 bill in it! A note with it said that "their friends" knew of their recent hardships and lovingly gave this gift to them, rather than "raise it," so it was given lovingly, willingly and happily. This was certainly a wonderful, surprising and much needed gift, as Grandpa Everest had been having a lot of health problems recently and had been bedridden for some time. Thankfully, their prayers for improved health came true and he stood alone for the first time in ages that week; a great Christmas gift indeed for the entire family! A few days later, George, Ruby and Patty Everest and Frank Pedersen came by for a big chicken dinner and had a good time, and then they all drove over to Marian's home where they picked them up too and drove around the Rosedale area and other neighborhoods, looking at decorations. A contest for the best house and yard decorations had been going on and Mrs. Jacobson's house in Rosedale won First Prize, while Dr. Fritzs' home on town hill took in second. The whole town was festive and gay and the spirit of Christmas was alive and well in Cathlamet that year! This, of course, was according to Grandma Elsie Everest's diary.