Dave and I have been home from Astoria for over a week. The first few days I worked on piecing a new quilt top from fabric and charm squares that I bought at JoAnn Fabrics in Astoria. I finished the quilt top, put the quilt sandwich together with batting and backing fabric, and basted it with safety pins. Now it sits waiting for me to start quilting it.
I intended to start the quilting on Tuesday, but Monday night I developed a fever, a slight sore throat, and fatigue. I went to bed early and was surprised when I woke up still sick. On Monday I had gone to the doctor to have two procedures done--a pap test and a diabetic eye screening. I began to wonder if I had picked up some germs or bacteria when I was there.
I called the doctor's office and they said to come in for a strep test, which turned out to be negative. When I got home, I went right back to bed.
Thursday and Friday I felt slightly less tired, but I still had a fever of 101.
Saturday I woke up without a fever, but my ears were both plugged up but not painful. That's still the situation today, but at least I got a got night's sleep last night, so I think I'm on the mend. I'm ready to get on with things! The upside of this illness is that I haven't been hungry and have lost 12 pounds since Monday!
Last Saturday, when I was still feeling fine, Dave had a rare day off from football, so we went for a walk at our local Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. Like many people, we don't always take advantage of the sights that are in are backyard. We had visited the Fort when we first moved here, and I had been there a time or two with our boys, but we were long overdue for another visit. Now that Dave as the National Park Senior Pass, we are looking for more places to visit at no charge.
Fort Vancouver was built in 1824 by the British Hudson's Bay Company as a western fur-trading outpost. In 1842, the Hudson's Bay Company moved their western headquarters to what is now know as Fort Victoria in British Columbia.
In 1849, Fort Vancouver was taken over by the United States Army and they constructed a barracks nearby. 
A fire destroyed the fort itself in 1866, but the Army facility has continued in operation in various forms down to the present.
Fort Vancouver was separated from the Army's barracks and in 1966 was designated as a National Historic Site. The original fort buildings have been replicated in their original positions at the fort.
The Fort's Officer's Row is worth seeing, too. Several famous generals served at Fort Vancouver, including Ulysses S. Grant, and more recently, General George C. Marshall.
