With all the activity last night, I didn't get to bed until midnight, by far the latest all week. It was worth it, though, because today we have David and Cynthia with us. Things are just a little more lively. I did enjoy the restful times, but this is nice, too. We had a cloud cover for a big part of the day, so the heat wasn't so bad. The humidity was up, and it got really muggy, but nothing a little dip in the lake couldn't fix.

In fact, I spent a lot more time in the water today. Part of the reason was that we had some oddball visitors that I didn't want to have to talk to. I know how that sounds, and there was nothing wrong with these people, as far as I know. But have relationships with everyone staying on the two houseboats. I know who I am with them, and it just seemed easier not to have to figure out who I should be with someone I didn't know (and didn't need to know).

They stayed until after dinner, so I didn't really have a choice except to stay out of the way. But it was our night to cook — David, Eric, Cynthia and me. I tried to help out, but I didn't last long. The noise and heat and press of bodies got to be more than I could handle, so I slipped out onto the back deck and sat with the grownups.

I felt guilty, but David is our expert chef, and he had John's help, and Eric and Cynthia and some others were chipping in, so there wasn't any real necessity for me to get in the way. If it sounds like I'm rationalizing, well, good for you. My contribution will have to be mostly financial. David's chicken cacciatore was excellent, especially since it was his first try at it.

After dinner I stayed out back. It got even louder inside, and there was much singing and dancing and carrying on. Everyone had fun, but I enjoyed my seat away from the action. There was a time I would have been right in the middle of the party, but my poor old head just couldn't take the volume. Staying away was my way of not being a party pooper.

It went on long after I went to bed, with David, Eric and Cynthia singing loudly along with Tim McGraw and Garth Brooks. I "enjoyed" it from a distance. There'll be plenty of time to sleep after I get home Sunday. Oh, wait. That's not right, is it? It's been proven.

I'd mentioned before coming up here that I wished I'd had a chance to get a haircut, so this morning Bev volunteered to do it for me. She was doing some trimming on other people anyway, so I got in line. She and Suzanne told me years ago that they thought I should wear my hair so the natural wave shows, so I told her to do whatever she wanted with it. I just wanted it short, but I didn't care about the old style enough to keep it.

I started getting comments on it before she was even finished with me, and it's been all good. It's definitely easier to comb, since it follows its own natural tendency to wave back away from my forehead. I like it, but I like the reaction to it even more. It's definitely less trouble this way.

If you doubt that the Tooth Fairy can find you even if you're on a houseboat tucked away in a remote cove on Shasta Lake, just ask Jayci. She got a whole dollar. Proof positive. Plus, she now has an even more dazzling smile.