As U2’s Bono reports in his weather forecast, “It’s a beautiful day…don’t let it get away,” I have to give hometown Portland kudos. I’ve been extremely critical of our rainy Northwest weather, so I want to make sure to give credit when credit is due. This past week at home has been delightfully warm and sunny, with no signs of rain in the 7-day forecast. It’s a Beautiful Day was also a 1967 San Francisco band featuring vocalist Pattie Santos along with violinist David LaFlamme. Their signature song “White Bird” was inspired while living in Portland’s rainy neighbor, Seattle. It was interesting to discover this tid-bit about the band because I often think of that sad song when it rains, while Bono’s vocals are much more uplifting and sunny. It’s a Beautiful Day, as one of Bill Graham’s bands, almost played at Woodstock, but the negotiations to sign the Grateful Dead apparently resulted in a coin toss that chose Santana instead. That was “a beautiful day” for Santana, who went on to achieve instant success and eventual “Hall of Fame” status. 

We’re headed to wine country this weekend to enjoy the great weather and pick-up a couple of cases as part of our club membership commitments. We also have company in town, so we plan  to take them to Top Golf for the afternoon. I do not play golf, but our older friend is an avid enthusiast, so it’s a friendship compromise. I would rather hit a few balls and not have to retrieve them from embarrassing or troublesome locations, as my shaky game often requires. Our wives will sit in the cocktail lounge and talk, since his wife is struggling with some knee issues and is not very mobile. As animal lovers, they’ll share proud memories of putting together Decatur, Illinois’ first “bark park.”

Both of our schnauzer pups are recuperating from trips to the vet this week, while our 17-year old Burmese kitten, Frankie, is still having trouble finding the litter box. Pet woes have been the central theme this week. (See Post #537). Our visitors this weekend were kind enough 12-years ago to assist us in adopting then 2-year old Tinker, keeping her comfortable at their home while we were out of town on business for a week. Both of them have been very instrumental in securing funding for homeless pets, and providing them with clean, secure facilities. Tinker is a daily reminder of their valuable friendship, as it was indeed “a beautiful day” when she joined our family. It’s difficult to watch this pup struggle in old age, as it will be equally tough to see our older friend contend with her serious knee pain. “Old age is not for sissies.”