We were glued to the TV for the Olympics opening ceremony and every night since. Wasn’t it fabulous! Jim and I seem to be addicted to the nightly competition. We already heard that a Eugene, OR fencing competitor won a gold metal. We went to Portland, OR this weekend and the grandkids were practicing their Olympic swimming techniques. They have a way to go but we were happy to see them so engrossed and attempting the physical activity required to be an athletic. They were cheering big time for Mike Phelps and his gold metal as well as the girl’s volleyball team. Tonight in the pool Elizabeth swam underwater for the first time so I think she is getting inspired. It is great fun visiting with the grandkids.

Last night we decided to try our RV washer and dryer. What a hilarious experience that was! It’s a front load washer and dryer combination. The minute we started the cycle our cat, Squeek, was mesmerized by the spinning action. His eyes got big and he perched himself on the counter backing up as far as he could to the wall. He could not take his eyes off the washer. He reminded us of the cartoon characters with the comical super sized eyes.

We had three of our granddaughters with us for the trip to Portland and as we sat watching the Olympics, Squeek was watching the spinning action of the washer. The girls found his manner amuzing. They were excited and talkative as usual. Everything was fine until the rinse cycle. For some reason the washer turned itself off at the beginning of the cycle dropping the 4 towels into an unbalance spin and the whole RV began to shake. The girls hid themselves under the blankets and started screaming, Squeek’s eyes got bigger and he backed even further into the wall. Jim got the flashlight and I began to laugh.

The whole RV was shaking and just about that time a train came by the RV Park and the ground began to shake. Squeek kept staring, his eyes getting larger and larger. I kept laughing, uncontrollably at this time. The granddaughters were anxious and worried thinking the machine might explode, shouting over the spinning action. Jim was getting angry but the shaking, Squeek’s staring, my uncontrollable laughter and the girls screaming continued. We found out that front loading RV washer/dryers cannot open until the cycle ends. We turned it off and on hoping to balance the load but nothing worked. Finally the cycle ended and we were all relived. We can only imagine what the neighbor RV’er thought. Next morning when we woke both neighbors on either side of us were gone!

Portland has a number of fun attractions. We spent the day at the International Rose Test Garden and the Japanese Garden. The roses are fabulous and on the weekends musicians come to the garden and play. There was also an artist painting. Emily and Ariel, our granddaughters, were tentatively watching her. She noticed and gave them tips on drawing and painting. She told them to carefully look at all the colors of green that were in the garden and to practice drawing every day. They are both into art and listened attentively. We love the place. On most clear days you can see Mt. Hood from the garden but not the day we visited. It was cloudy. The Japanese Garden is so relaxing. It is proclaimed as one of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside of Japan. Portland also has a Chinese Garden. The City it heralded as the city of roses. Flowers and trees flourish here.