Please make sure your pet is ID'd

NICE ONE--We certainly had a nice weekend with a bit of heat thrown in there for you sun lovers, so I'm sure you all enjoyed it. The late night hours cooled things off a bit and the early morning hours weren't bad either, so for folks like me who don't like to work in the sun, those times really provided a great opportunity to do any outside chores that needed to be done. Of course, by the traffic I saw and heard going by, I know there were a lot of folks saying "forget the yardwork" and away they went to the coastal areas to enjoy a wonderful weekend by the water.

SPECIAL DAYS--Those folks with birthdays from August 13-19 are Kathleen Morgain, Tim Schmitz, Shannon Britt, Jessica Schiek, Ricky Montgomery Jr., Steve McClain, Kassy Burdick, Gary Cooper, Erica Torppa, Addy Hauff, Judy Smith, Tyna Zink, Krista Blix McGuire, Dale Heiner, Deanna Datchler, Jerry Pedersen, Danny Tomlinson, Toni Sue Ostling, Vivian Olsen, Vickie Gregory, Margie Wagner Pedersen, Naomi Pedersen and Denis Everest.

Those celebrating anniversaries this coming week are Mr. and Mrs. Kyle Gribskov, Mr. and Mrs. Randy Hoven, Mr. and Mrs. Tracy Elliott, Ty and Kendra Finkas and celebrating their 60th annivesary this week are Gene and Karen Healy, and celebrating their very first anniversary are Kyle and Suzy (Ekstrom) Sechler. May all of your special anniversary celebrations be super special for you this year!

CONGRATS--It looks like we have a new listing for our anniversary section, as Chelsea Paulsen married Winchester Greenup this past weekend, with their families by their side, so congratulations to them! The bride's proud parents, Mike and Penny Paulsen, were certainly beaming with pride, as was grandma, Jeanne Paulsen and all the other family members as well. It was a beautiful day to be married outside and a gorgeous spot by one of our local rivers made for an ideal setting for the couple to get hitched. May they enjoy many other sunny days ahead together.

OOPS...SORRY!--As sometimes happens, things that are scheduled wind up being cancelled at the last minute and unfortunately, that notice doesn't show up until way after my deadline, which is a real bummer. Anyway, I mentioned that last Saturday, there would be a Flea Market happening at the Wahkiakum County Fairgrounds, but I found out two days later, that it had been cancelled, but by then it was too late to put in a correction. I did post a retraction on Facebook, as many get their news from there, so I hope most of you had heard that it had been cancelled prior to driving down here. Sorry about that, but not much I could do to correct it.

FARMER'S MARKETS--According to Deb Holland, there will be the usual Friday Farmer's Market at the marina in Cathlamet from 3 to 6, so check that out if you have the time, as often different vendors are there sporting their wares. This also applies to the Farmer's Market held in Skamokawa at the fairgrounds, which is held on Tuesdays from 4 to 7, so they hope you'll stop by that day as well, and again, different vendors often show up, so it's hard to say just who will be there. Here's hoping those markets continue on those days and hours and I get notified very early if there is a change!

SATURDAY--We're coming to the middle of the month, so with time flying by, don't forget that you've only got a few more Saturdays to stop in at the WCHS Museum in Cathlamet, located at 65 River Street. Entry prices vary according to age and there's a discount for senior citizens. Current guidelines are in place for your safety and that of the hosts/docents so please conduct yourself appropriately when in the building. Your help is truly appreciated.

FLYING--Speaking of flying, if you're new to the area and you like to fly kites, it's time to head to Skamokawa Vista Park, as with our sunny weather, we almost have guaranteed windy afternoons here. SVP is located just west of our local restaurant and Skamokawa Resort at MP 29, so you just cross the bridge and take a left at Vista Park road, which is right past the United Methodist Church. You can't miss it! With a nice big grassy area out in the middle of the park, it makes a great spot to let the kids run and play with their kites. Sometimes we even have kite festivals there but with so many events up in the air this year due to the virus, most of those have been canceled. However, that's not saying that you may find a few of those kite lovers stopping by on their own, and if they aren't there, just bring your own and have a good time, as the "go fly a kite" remark fits right in at Skamokawa Vista Park!

DOGS--There seems to be an ongoing problem with wandering dogs lately, and sadly, while many of these dogs have a collar on them, there is no current information on them as to who they belong to, a phone number to call, or even their name. The collar basically says "I belong to somebody, somewhere," but that's not exactly a lot of help to the person who has located that animal. Same goes for those who are chipped. I mean, how many of us have a chip scanner handy or are willing to drive to a vet with that animal to have it scanned? So, if there's one thing you can do for your animal, or maybe a great gift idea for the new pet owner, buy them a "flat" collar with the animal's name and the owner's name and address and current phone number. A lot of times, those jingly tags get ripped off. A nice smooth tag on the surface is really ideal, so if your "baby" runs off or gets lost on a trip, you can be notified right away without the finders of your pet wondering what to do with this "unidentified" animal. Sadly, taking them to the pound is not what people want to do, but that can happen. Please be a good human and insure the safe return of your "fur baby."

RECOVERING--We got word from one of our Puget Island girls and a former North Welcome Slough neighbor of mine, Lori Wika, that she is recovering from Covid-19. We were so sorry to hear this news and she tells us that she was so sick that she doesn't even remember a couple of weeks of it, but we're happy to hear that after 17 days, she was able to let us know what was going on. Gracious, how scary! We hope she has a complete recovery without any other long lasting side effects. As we all know, Lori is a fighter, so we will hope and pray that she will bounce back and be as good as new real soon!

ASKING FOR PRAYERS--Classmate Sharon Stout Servis has asked us to keep her niece, Vicki in our thoughts and prayers, as she too is battling COVID-19. According to Sharon, Vicki lives in Seattle and not only has the virus but underlying health issues, so this is especially hard on her. Sharon is a true believer in the power of prayer so she asks that you keep her family in yours.

Also Tawnya Munson has said that her Mother, Rena Brooshier Havens, is having more and more health issues and other difficulties so she is asking that you direct your calls to her instead of her Mom right now. You can locate her on Facebook. We will continue to keep Rena in our thoughts during this difficult time.

OUT OF THE PAST--This week back in 1950, it was one word: "hot" all week long. With the heat and Grandpa Everest being bedridden all week long, Grandma Everest just didn't have much to say, as between the heat and worry, she was pretty wore out.

This week back in 1960, the weather was very nice, except for one day but after that brief downturn, it got quite hot. On August 13 that year, which was a Saturday, the day was simply "lovely" and so it was the perfect day for the wedding of Gene Healy and Karen Anderson at the Skamokawa Methodist Church. There was a large crowd at this truly "lovely affair" and both the families of the couple were all there, front and center for their special day. The following day, the Leon Healys and the Glenn Palmers all went to Crystal Pool and had a wonderful time and even brought a great chicken dinner with them to enjoy. By evening, it began to cool off and it actually rained on the way home, which everyone was quite happy about, as it hadn't rained since June! It was fair time in the county, and Grandpa Everest was helping out the Grange for a couple of days down there. The Krist Pedersens, who were usually not home at this time as they were usually in Alaska, wound up having a rare summertime trip to the coast. It seems KP had arranged to rent the swimming pool in Seaside so Krist, Carol, Kay and Marshall had the whole place to themselves for several hours. What a treat! All this according to my Grandma Elsie Everest's diaries.