Friday, December 31, 2010

2010 RECAP

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!

As another year comes to end again I have no idea where the seconds,minutes,hours,days,
weeks,and months went ! How could a year have possibly passed already ?????
But alas it has but I need a recap so I can remember 2010.

JANUARY ...
And what a way to start the year out, the coldest weather we have had in years started this month out.The local car wash was out of business for the entire month almost.

I finished decorating and furnishing my new sunroom.
January is spring cleaning month for me ,I do the deep cleaning as I remove the holiday decorations.

The 12th of the month brought a devastating earthquake to the impoverished nation of Haiti,killing 140,000 people and many more would perish from disease and sickness afterwards.

The 16th brought to end the life of my cousin and my high school basketball coach.

24th brought major flooding,the worst in years,trapping motorist and tearing down our fences.

Ending the month was a major 11" plus snowstorm on the 29th.


FEBRUARY.......
Month started out with snow still hanging around and cold temperatures.

5th brought an ice storm, luckily we didn't loose our electric like so many did.

7th Father-in-law was admitted to the hospital after having stroke. Doctors discovered blocked,ulcerated arteries.



12th brought another snow storm and another 6".

14th Father-in-law was moved to Hospice with probably weeks to live.

February is tax month for me and my mind stays jumbled most of the month with figures.

18th Father-in-law died ,surprisingly quicker than anyone expected.
Spent later month days cleaning out his old house of 50+ years accumulation and cleaning smoke stains off walls ,ceilings and floors.
27th brought the 2nd earthquake of the year,this time in Chili, killing more than 700 people.

MARCH......
2 birthdays this month makes this month hold a special place in my heart. #2 son was born on the 1st and daughter was born on the 26th.

Snow starts this month off also,when 7" fell on the 2nd day.

On the 6th day the Govenor made a surprise visit to the Curb market and bought a childs apron from me.

On the 11th I purchased a new Canon camera so my photo quality will improve.
We finally got a break in the weather so we could landscape the back yard.
My goal for this month was to clean and organize my sewing shop and this was accomplished in the last 2 weeks of the month. It makes working out there a lot easier and much easier to find things.
Wouldn't you know winter is refusing to lose it's grip and we had another snow on the 22nd. This one wasn't around long so maybe spring is going to win out after all finally.

APRIL....
This month contains 1 special birthday as daughter-in-laws gets a year older on the 24th.
Flowers are blooming this month and the colors are so vivid probably from all the nitrogen the snow put in the ground.
Snow is a distant memory now as on the 2nd day of April it was 84 degrees.
Easter was a hot day to hunt eggs on as it came on the 4th.
This month we made our bi-annual trip to the Pickens flea market ,we planted potatoes,cabbage, broccoli and greens. We had a freeze on the 9th but not a killing one.
Bought a new dishwasher this month.


For our anniversary gift the kids took Hubbie and I to Greenville,SC to an Alan Jackson / Josh Turner concert.We had a very enjoyable day.

This month brought another devastating earthquake,this time in China, killing 600 people.
On the 20th a BP oil rig blew up in the Gulf of Mexico creating an oil spill that would last for months and was the worst in the history of oil drilling.

MAY.....
The death of an old friend brought this month as on the 2nd day our old dog Willie died.

On the 3rd there was terrible floods in Nashville, Tenn. devastating the city and flooding the Grand Ole Opry House.

Our garden early vegetables are coming up and we planted the remainder of our garden the 2nd week of this month.

I had my yearly physical and passed with flying colors.

Also started a new blog about my early beginnings.

A terrible lightening storm knocked the lights our at church again, damaging the electric system.

Dolly ate a piece of cube steak and almost died .

Went to the yearly Garden Jubilee downtown Hendersonville on the 29th.

Grandson was dedicated at church this month.

JUNE......
In the first week of this month I attended my yearly Avon awards luncheon,didn't get any awards but won a door prize and had a nice lunch.
That same week on Saturday we had our spring Old Timey day at Curb Market.





A new addition to our family came with the marriage of my nephew A to his beautiful bride B ,they were actually married in Jamaica but celebrated back at home.

We hauled all our calves to market at the beginning of this month as cattle prices rose to a new high and we were afraid the price would drop,however it didn't and we should have waited because it actually went up.

On the 10th of this month an injury to #1 son would throw all our lives into an unbelievable turn of events that is still mind boggling to think about.
As #1 son jumped on their newly set-up trampoline holding g-son in his arms his left leg folded forward,as he tossed g-son and grabbed his leg in unbearable pain. D-in-love called us and a month long saga started. In the emergency room they told us his leg was broken and he would have surgery the next morning. This is the after surgery x-ray off all the metal that is now in his knee.
After the surgery and the swelling in his lower leg getting worse they did double fasciotomies, which are long cuts to release the pressure on the nerves and muscles. Then they discovered he had major artery damage behind the knee. After spending the entire month of June in Park Ridge Hospital with all the family switching out time staying with him,mostly to keep his spirits up we were all worn to a frazzle. On the 26th he started spiking a very high fever and after various attempts by the staff there to determine the cause of the fever failed he was transfered to Mission Hospital in Asheville,NC on June 30th. Within 3 hours they had the fever issue resolved and were prepping him for artery surgery to save his leg.

JULY......
Son's surgery went well and he is on the way to recovery,we are all sick that we didn't start out at this hospital.

D-in-law gives me her 3 hens as I had been wanting to get some chickens of my own.
The heat continues this month as the temperatures hover in the high 90's most days.




On July 2nd #2 son and daughter drove to Madison county and he buys a basset hound puppy and names it Flash.He's been looking for one for a long time and this one just happened to come out in the Iwanna paper this week.


On the 8th of July #1 son finally is discharged from the hospital and is in a lot of pain but at least he's home.

My purchases this month included a new clothes washer and this beautiful Blue Orphington Rooster along with a blue and a black Orphington pullet. Of which the blue pullet turned out to be another rooster.

Even with little attention my garden is coming along nicely and this month I have canned green beans, froze blackberries, made peach jam and creamed corn given to us by a friend.
This month comes to an end with me getting a year older.

AUGUST.....
Started this busy month off with a week of teaching Bible School in G-son's class. This is one of his most favorite times of the year.

I made blueberry jam and more blackberry jam this month.

This is one of my busiest months at market so I did alot of baking and standing on my feet which sent me to the knee doctor to have my knee checked out after it swelled up with no apparent reason.
Thankfully he said it was just irritated Arthritis.

Ours and #1 son's lives are starting to settle down into a new normalcy cycle. G-son is spending more time with his dad and loving it.
On the 12th of this month we sat outside in the dark watching the perseid meteor shower.
I made salsa this month along with peach freezer jam.
I bought a new refrigerator.
This is the month I started the decade pictures on my blog in order to create memories and to preserve more old photos on this blog.


SEPTEMBER......
This month always starts off with the Apple Festival.Daughter and I went up on the street on Saturday evening ,but the crowds and the heat made our festival trip short.
We had a large triple oak tree cut down the first of this month,we had to have it done with a crane.
I canned tomatoes and made pear butter this month.
2 strong hurricanes brushed the coast of NC and SC early this month with minimal damage.




Our postponed vacation time finally rolled around on the 12th of this month and we spent a week in Cherry Grove ,SC. G-son loved the beach this year more than ever.

On June 22nd we had a rare super harvest moon.

The month ended with the Curb Market's fall Old Timey Days celebration.

OCTOBER.....


Another new addition to our family as my niece had baby Maddox on October 11th.

My oven went on the blink and I had to buy another one but luckily I found a sale, I also bought a fireplace heater to put in the sunroom,for heat and to watch at night while relaxing out there.



Made our yearly trip to the pumpkin patch. #1 son still has a wound vac on his leg.

We dug our potatoes this month when we found a dry time.

The first freeze came on the 21st of the month this year.






#1 son turned 29 and g-son turned 4 on the 16th.



I acquired a flock of Silkie chickens from a neighbor that didn't want to keep them through the winter. That meant building more chicken houses and lots.
I went to 2 local festivals 1 called the Bizarre Bazaar and Hubbie and I went to the Fall Harvest Days festival.
There was a terrible accident on I-26 that took the lives of 4 young people,1 of which went to school with my kids.

At church we had our first trunk or treat and Hubbie and I went as Sarah and Abraham and we gave out tons of candy and will need to buy more next year.


NOVEMBER......
This month started out with outside work on the days between the rain,we cleared out a large place for a new chicken lot and built a new house for the silkies.
We voted in the election and spent many hours raking leaves.
We made our 2nd bi-annual flea market trip
I purchased an Eden pure heater to keep the sunroom warm so we wouldn't have to move all the plants back inside the house.
We tore down an old shed to begin plans for a renovation project that will have to be done in several steps.
On the 21st we had a Blue Moon.
I had a very busy Thanksgiving at market this year.


#1 son shot the biggest deer he had ever shot and is having it mounted. We thanked God for this bright spot in his life right now.








Christmas open house at market was fun for g-son,he loved riding the horse drawn trailor and kept daughter out in the cold all day as they rode 4 times.







The month ended with a huge flood on the 30th that washed down fences again.








DECEMBER......
A cold cold month with temperatures averaging 20 degrees below normal for most of the month.
Hubbie and I enjoyed the Deacon's supper at the beginning of the month to kick off the holiday activities.

Snow came on the 12th with 5" and again on the 25th for a record breaking 9" white Christmas snow.

A magical month made even more magical with snow on the decorations.

We celebrated at church with a children's play and a choir Christmas program.







We celebrated at home with family at 2 different gatherings.






This little boy sure helps put a magical spin on any Christmas.



A wind storm came on the night of the 26th and blew trees down but thankfully none hit anything and we didn't loose our power.We woke to blizzard condition like we haven't seen since the blizzard of 1993.

Hubbie and both son's have been working on enlarging a workshop over the past couple days.
The temperature got above freezing yesterday for the first time since it snowed.



Whew!!!! what a year I've had.
Today we ended the year with a nice relaxing afternoon after a morning of cleaning out the ditches on the driveway. The snow has finally melted enough to see where Hubbie scraped the drainage ditches full and it is suppose to rain tomorrow.
As all 3 of the family men worked on finishing enlarging the workshop g-son watched old cartoons on the computer all afternoon while I did various cleaning inside. I think he likes the old ones better than the new ones on TV.



God's own fireworks bring this month and year to an end in only a way that He could. His fireworks outshine any that will be set off from earth tonight that is for sure.

LOOKING FORWARD TO WHAT GOD HAS IN STORE FOR ME AND MY FAMILY IN THE NEW YEAR.
Good Night and God Bless.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

SLOW MARKET, SAD FUNERAL , MONTHLY REMINISCING

Market was slow today, probably because there is so much ice and snow left around town no one wants to chance falling.
This is what the market parking lot looked like at about 10:30. We were all wondering where the sunny upper 40's day was as the clouds hung thick all day and when I left market at noon leaving daughter with it the temperature in the van was 37.
I ran my regular errands and got home at 1:30 so Hubbie and I could get the new chick house in place. It took us almost 2 hours to get it done and them moved into it so no time for pictures today.
We hurriedly got ready to go to the visitation and funeral of our neighbor that passed on Christmas morning.
We had to park and walk a long way to the small Mausoleum chapel where the service was to be held. By the time we made our way through the line and spoke to all the family there were no seats left to sit through the service, so we decided to come on home rather than stand. This would give me plenty of time to cook for the dinner we were hosting at church for the family after the service.
Everyone is always so appreciative of these dinners,it makes all the preparation and work well worth it.

Thought I would recap this month tonight since I'll be recapping the entire year tomorrow.
December has been a topsy turvy month in the weather department for sure.

The month started out with a major flood that pushed our fences down.
Weather turns brutally cold freezing even waterfalls and rivers all over WNC.
On the 12th we got an unexpected almost 5" of snow to top off the Christmas decorations.
Had a wonderful month of church activities, shopping trips, family gatherings and all the excitement Christmas time brings, especially with a 4 year old running around.
An historic Christmas day snow storm dropped 9" of the white stuff,we felt so lucky all our kids live within walking distance to our family Christmas on Christmas day evening.
Mother Nature gave us the gift of a magical wonderland for Christmas this year for a couple days.
On the following Monday morning after a night of 60 mph wind gust that downed trees and closed roads with massive 3 feet plus snow drifts the sun finally came out and we felt lucky again to have retained our power all through the wind.
This month has been a pretty routine, get ready for the holidays month for me. Hubbie and I both found a new dentist and are in the process of getting our smiles redone. I got an all clear report from the dermatologist and have had fairly busy market sales for the month.
#1 son is limping around with the use of a cane, still in a lot of pain but got a good report from the vascular surgeon. Has acquired a lawyer to reapply for disability.

D-in-love's photo business has picked up through the holidays and that has been a blessing to go along with her other 2 part time jobs.

G-son has been vibrating all month with the excitement of Christmas and has been a joy to be around.

#2 son has been working 6 days a week at the PO delivering all the Christmas mail.

Daughter has been enjoying her Christmas break form the school she works at as well as doing some dog sitting and baking. We had fun on our yearly shopping trips.

Hubbie has decided to extend #1 son's workshop to double it's size so they can have a combined work area instead of buying a new out building as we had planned ,saving about $2000.

On this New Year's Eve eve I have enjoyed reminiscing back over this enjoyable month.I am humbly thankful to God for the blessings the days of December have brought and prayerfully get ready to experience what He has in store for me in 2011.
Good Night, God Bless and Happy New Year.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

LITTLE BAKER AND MEMORIES FROM 2000

Feels better this morning outside,still cold 28 but no wind and the sun is shining brightly.
When I let the chickens out you could almost see them sigh a thankful sigh that they weren't being blown around the pen or snowed on,although they are still walking in snow up to their ying yangs !!!
After chores and breakfast I called the market manager to see if market was going to open tomorrow,she said it was.
Daughter went along on my cake delivery with me and we stopped and bought some supplies to bake a few things. This time of year it gets so hard to figure out what to bake. Most of our business buyers are closed or slowed way down and don't need much.
G-son and #1 son were here when we got home and #1 son was helping Hubbie on his new work shop while g-son stayed with daughter and I inside.We are training him to be the next baker.His favorite part is cracking the eggs.Man, this is gonna be soooooooo good !!!!!!!
After the baking was done he and I sat out in the sunroom and turned on the fireplace heater so he could watch the flames.
#2 son had come up and was helping finish the floor of the shop. They worked until after 7 tonight.
We had 39 degree temperatures this afternoon with sunshine ,a lot of the snow melted and it was getting very slick this evening after the temperature dropped below freezing.
After doing paperwork I baked more cakes tonight, 2 granny pound, and 2 blackberry wine cakes. Daughter is trying some chocolate wine cakes. I sampled them when we wrapped them and boy are they good but the wine is so expensive there isn't much profit in them.

With all the business of this month I've gotten behind on my decade pictures,I almost forgot the 2000 December memories.Our tree in 2000, this is the only year I can remember not putting the tree in front of the window,and can't remember why we didn't.#2 son with his cousin's ( my brother's boys).#1 son seems happy about his gifts that year.Daughter with her cousin's ( my brother's daughters).

While posting these pics I'm kicking myself for not taking more pictures this year.

I've started sneezing my head off today,I hope I'm not coming down with a cold. I've already took one Air Borne and am getting ready to take another one before I get in bed.

Tomorrow will be the last Thursday market day until April and I can't say I sad to get a break .
I'm looking forward to doing some serious house cleaning and working on some projects I've been putting off since last spring.
Praying tonight for a close neighbor who lost his wife on Christmas morning and her funeral is tomorrow, he isn't in the best of health himself and I pray for God's grace to help him get through the days ahead.
Good Night and God Bless.