TOPSY TURVY JANUARY COMES TO AN END

This was what the road going by our house still looked like this morning.I thought sure they would scrap it over night,but wrong!! No church today,so I took a long peaceful walk this morning with Annie and Sadie.It was hard walking in this snow as there is a hard crust on top,even the dogs were able to walk on top sometimes,but fell through other steps.They tested the ice on some of the flood waters still standing in the bottom. We haven't let the cattle come down into the bottom pasture since it snowed in fear they would step off in deep water that they couldn't see beneath the snow.We had an experience with a cow falling down the snow covered bank into the freezing pond years ago and if we hadn't happened to be there to help her get out,it would have been too bad. At least the water in the creek is back to it's normal level after last weeks flooding.Maybe it's just been awhile since the sky was clear but this morning the sky seems like it is exceptionally blue as I thank God today for all the Blessings he bestows on me everyday. And the beautiful,clear blueness of the sky this morning has to be Heaven sent. We had our regular Sunday lunch with everyone there. G-son came in crying because he wanted to stay outside and play in the snow. After lunch everyone went about their business, #2 son had to make a trip to the store,
daughter has a week long dog-sitting job and left this afternoon while the roads were at their best, #1 son took his machine out to scrape driveways for some of his customers, g-son,pawpaw and me went outside to play in the snow. More sledding,and snowman building,although this is not a good snow for building a snowman,it's to icy and won't stick together,not the greatest looking snowman to say the least. G-son did great sledding by himself on the small hills.
Now on to the task of Frosty,he worked hard rolling and patting to make the snow stick together.I know handsdown which of these Frostys I would choose,g-son is such a clown sometimes and thinks of such funny things to do,such as striking this pose without any encouragement. We let him play in the snow for as long as he wanted this afternoon,the sun was warm with temps around 40,perfect day for playing in the snow. The warm sunshine also caused all the snow to slide off our front roof again. We had our 2nd avalanche of the season.I just hope no people or dogs are ever under this when it decides to slide off. Now again we have huge mounds of snow in the front yard. So far our gutters are okay,we only have the back roof to go now,hopefully those gutters will hold up also.It got cold pretty fast this evening,inside and outside,everyone has left but hubbie and I and the house is strangely empty.I always feel this way when everyone has been around close for a few days.
I guess it will be back to regular routines tomorrow except for me and I'm not going out delivering Avon as planned.I'll wait until the snow melts more, especially in people's driveways. Matter of fact,I picked up my order Thursday and haven't even bagged the orders yet!! At least they worked on our road this afternoon,but all that melting will be black ice in the morning with the 14 degree temperatures and it'll probably get there as it is 24 at 11:30 and it usually drops 10 degrees overnight. Lord watch out for all the people going to work in the morning. I hope it melts fast as now they are calling for another storm this weekend,oh my! I've been trying to plan my week and since they are calling for maybe some freezing rain Tuesday morning,I think I'll put off Avon delivery until Thursday or maybe some on Wednesday. I am rewarding myself with a week off after getting all my house deeply cleaned in January. February is tax month at my house,as I not only do our taxes with our 3 businesses,but also do daughter's and #2 son's. Hopefully getting all of it done before March 1st. March is my outside work month and this year I have a big project planned,cleaning out my sewing shop,believe me that will be a BIG JOB!!! I am also planning to replace my old blackberry patch with different type berries in a new place. My goal was to wake everyday with a purpose in mind for that day and January has been a success. This 1st month of 2010 has been a topsy turvy month,but we have rolled with the waves of the weather and rose to the challenges the Lord layed out before us. I have been able to see past any obstacles to see the Blessings everyday and enjoy them.God helps me everyday to deal with life's hurdles and I work to keep my heart open to Him and not act hastily without His intervention. Now bring on February!!!!!!!! Good Night and God Bless.

SNOWY SATURDAY FULL OF FUN

Another snowy weekend,this is our day as I saw it.....Driveway being cleared...Driveway before being cleared...On the road that goes by our house there were several abandoned vehicles like this one just above our driveway where people just got out and walked last night when they got stuck.Burning a huge brush pile in one of our pastures,no danger of fire spreading today!!!Play time ,g-son sledding with aunt T......G-son sledding with his daddy.....Man it's nice to be three years old......This is way better that a pony......Hey mom sliding down the hill is a lot more fun when you use a sled....Believe it or not g-son is under this spray of snow.......WhenI got the first facefull of snow wiped off he was ready to go again,the second facefull he gave the sled to his mom and his aunt T..... They got their faces full of the powdery snow and......Wound up in the bushes........I may not know where I'm going, but it won't be because there's snow in my face this time...Lovin it,lovin it, lovin it.....................................Time to go inside and warm up with some nice cold snow cream mmmmmm!!!!!!!!!!!!!
After all this day of fun we all had supper together,even #2 son came when he got home from work. He went home soon after we ate ,he was tired from delivering mail in the snow all day. #1 son, d-in-love, daughter and I played cards for more than 3 hours while g-son and pawpaw watched TV. #1 son taught us a new card game and it was fun and the more you played the better you got,you really had to think and pay close attention to your cards,it was good brain exercise,so we wound up playing until 11:30. Whoa!!!! Wonderful way to spend a snowed in evening! God sometimes sends us lemons in many forms,flooding rains,ice,snow and waits to see how sweet the lemonade is that we make from them. Today's lemonade was super sweet....Thank You Lord. Good Night and God Bless.

SNOW FLOWERS BLOOMED THIS AFTERNOON

It was nice to wake up to just a cloudy day,as I went outside to do the morning feeding I could feel the moisture in the air and the quiet stillness was hanging on.I finished the cleaning downstairs,got another big bag of trash plus 1 for Goodwill. Boy I have a great feeling of accomplishment,finishing the job right on time. Last year I got sick and some of the cleaning I did this year hadn't been done in 2 years! Thank you Lord for a month of wellness and energy for a job well done. After lunch I refilled all the bird feeders as their has been a flurry of activity this morning.
About 3:00 as I walked through the living room and looked out the window I saw a white cloud reaching the ground and moving quickly toward me. Snow was falling so fast and thick it didn't take long to accumulate on everything, even the roads. The brine they spent the morning spraying on the roads couldn't work with this much snow falling. The scanner lit up with accidents everywhere. Hubbie made it home about an hour early and daughter came in shortly after. #1 son brought g-son here while he went to the store to get some fuel and take his generator over to his house while he could still get up his driveway.Pre-school didn't go so well today as the pump knot on his head looked like it hurt really bad,as the bags under his eyes give a clue to how much crying he must have done. WhenI ask him what happen he said "my friend pushed me on a shelf"??????. Boys will be boys,he hasn't had any bumps or bruises in quite awhile,but it seems he's on a mission to make up for lost time.
D-in-love got caught in Asheville and had to drive very slowly home ,but she made it. They parked both cars over here so they could get out if needed. I went out at 5:45 to put the dogs up and feed them.There is about 4" of snow and still coming down although not as hard right now.But to figure it is snowing almost 2" an hour,I gotta pray it does slack off.Birds were still gobbling up seed late into the evening. The road actually looked a little better now than it did earlier as heavy traffic made their way home from work. #2 son made it home from his mail route about 7:00 tonight.Thank You Lord for getting my family all safely home. Now I can relax and enjoy some of the beauty of a snowfall. These azalea bushes had snow flowers blooming on them this evening.And this tree got covered with this heavy wet snow very quicky,the beauty of a fresh snowfall is hard to match especially as it comes in the middle of winter when the main color is drab and grey mixed together.
Just had to call the neighbor and tell him a car just slid off the road and through his fence,then they took his gate down and drove away. Some people just don't care what happens to you as long as they don't have to own up to what they do. He has about 30 cows and calves in there and they were right there in plane view. It is still snowing to beat the band outside at 8:00.
Just listened to the latest weather report and am wondering what we'll wake up to in the morning.
Now there is a chance of freezing rain on top of all this snow,uhhh,I sure hope not. I walked out into the snow earlier and it is so pretty,the snow has changed to powdery and as I kicked it around I thought what pretty pictures it will make in the morning.At midnight it is 29 degrees and snowing again. God watch over all the workers who will have to be on the roads early in the morning. Good Night and God Bless.

DAY OF PREPARATION FOR SNOW STORM

Well I checked out the forecast this morning and either way you look at it we stand to get a lot of snow. Let's just say this, if we don't there are a lot of weather people who are going to have a lot of crow to eat! That is some pretty substantial snow accumulations!
I spent the morning doing some more cleaning downstairs. After lunch I headed to town to run my errands. I need to do my weekly Aldi and Walmart shopping and I dread it as I know these stores are going to be sooooooo crowded with everyone stocking up for the big snow. I saved them for last and Aldi was pretty crowded,my friend who manages the store was on a register and she said her back was killing her,it had been nonstop since 9 am. I stopped in Tractor Supply to pick up more suet cakes, can't let the little birds go hungry! Now last but never least was a stop at Wallyworld , their had to be a million cars in the parking lot!!!! I did my shopping and headed up front expecting to stand in a long line, low and behold as I cruised across the cashier lines,I saw a cashier beckoning from one of the back registers,my lucky day!!!!!!! I was checked out in a flash and on my way.I will give Walmart credit however,they did have most of their registers open today.
I'm home and unloaded, taking a coffee break,waiting on hubbie to get off work.We are going to put a new cover on Annie and Sadie's lot and houses. The tarp we have up there now was mostly for shade in the summer and rain,it isn't made to hold snow. It is full of holes and rips from the last snow we had. Today has been a beautiful day,60 degrees with lots of sunshine,hard to believe such a change is coming!
Hubbie and I fixed up a cover on the dog's lot to keep them all dry and cozy for the snowy weather. All 4 dogs, Annie,Sadie, Bernie and Dolly were playing around while we worked and Dolly ended up getting hurt. She is so small she gets stepped on when the other dogs are playing around and she tries to join the fun. Then she comes screaming to me to be picked up and consoled. She's all better now but probably will be sore in the morning.Another January day comes to a colorful end. A few clouds are starting to drift in late this evening creating a pink and blue sunset. I'm very lucky as I can watch the sunset from the couch in my living room. When I was outside earlier I noticed how eerily quite and still it felt, sure signs snowfall is coming. Another old prediction will come true with this snow also. During the rain storm last Sunday night it thundered and my daddy always said "if it thunders in the winter time you can expect snow within 7 days"!!!! I don't mind snow,but #2 son is always on my mind because he is a mailman and has to work, so that's a reason I hope we don't get as much as they say. I will and do pray everyday for his safety along with all the other public servants that must get out on the roads no matter what the weather.
We did extra cleaning at church tonight in case we can't get back tomorrow night. The air has a definite chill to it as we came home,although it is still 39 degrees,you can almost feel the humidity level going up out there.
God has it all planned out and we just have to have faith in His graciousness. Good Night and God Bless.

A PLANTAIN FIRST

Up early with a purpose for today! After breakfast and exercise I headed outside to do a little road repair. When hubbie scraped our driveway the other day he stopped up all the ditches.So armed with a shovel and a rake for the gravel I was determined to get it fixed,not like last week when there was some work that needed to be done and I payed for putting it off. They are predicting snow but you never know around here what we'll get. Even with the top of the ground frozen I managed to get the job done. It was time to go to the Sav-Mor store before picking up g-son from pre-school. I got some veggies for a good deal but not as much as last week,I always buy USA produce it possible.After all the horror stories of nastiness in some of the foreign counties producing vegetables I'll just wait until I can grow some things. I think you're okay if you are going to cook the vegetables but I'm careful about where what we eat raw comes from. Although some things like bananas and pineapples are just not grown here and I love them. I bought something new today,Plantains, I have never had them,daughter has fried them before and she said they were very good,so I'm in for a new treat tonight (maybe). I read the label on them,it said green plantains were like potatoes,use in soups and stews. yellow with brown spots were good fried or mashed, and black where very sweet and used as dessert. I'm looking forward to tasting these. On the drive home g-son almost went to sleep but made it home and after some lunch his disposition brightened considerably. In his favorite chair with his favorite pillow friend and chocolate milk and pancakes with some goldfish on he side makes for a good cold weather day. We are seeing a little bit of sunshine and the temperature has gotten to 44, but with the breeze blowing and the constant stream of clouds covering the sun,it is pretty cool out there. As I walked through the kitchen I noticed this flock of doves sunning themselves. They are such a peaceful,calm bird and their coloring helps them blend into the dead leaves so well I watched Annie walk by and she never noticed the doves because they became motionless when they saw her coming. Time for g-son to get a little nap.
While he napped I worked on cleaning the downstairs,I got dust everywhere trying to vacuum around the woodstove down there. I got a lot done before hubbie and #1 son came in. Maybe I can get it finished tomorrow,then I'll take a week off before tax work begins.
#1 son took g-son home just before we had company,my cousin Mike came for a visit.
We ate a very late supper, and I fried 2 of my plantains,sprinkled them with sugar and daughter and I ate them. Not something to write home about as they say but they were alright. Tomorrow I'll find a recipe online to try with the other 2,they need more flavor.
Did weekly paperwork and payed bills although I can't mail them until hubbie gets paid,maybe tomorrow! Sitting here now waiting for the President to finish his speech so I can watch the weather to see when they say the snow is going to get here. At least tomorrow is suppose to be really warm and pretty as I've got to run errands in town.
Counting my blessings as I put another day behind me and look forward to what tomorrow may bring. Good Night and God Bless.

BORING HOUSEWORK DAY, AHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Housework and laundry filled this cold day. This morning I hadn't paid any attention to the temperature,the sun was shining brightly so I headed outside to hang out a load of towels.Boy did I get a cool surprise,I checked the temp when I got back inside,it was 38,brrr! I was thankful when I did my Yoga exercise this morning because one of my hips that last week was so weak I couldn't do a leg left was strong enough this morning to do it,it hurt like the dickens but I did it,yeah!! This afternoon I got out a bunch of baby things,I had stored downstairs and when hubbie came in we put them up in the new storage area that was created when the new room was built. That frees up a lot of space downstairs. We finished evening chores and then made a much needed trip to Sam's Club. We hadn't had supper so we had one of their hotdogs before we left. It is cold outside as the temperature is mid twenties.They are predicting a snow storm for Friday,we'll see! Nothing exciting going on today,but it is a welcome change from the last several days. My knee hurts tonight as it always does after housecleaning day so I vegged out on the couch,watched a b-ball game and am now listening to the news while I blog.This is another picture I took yesterday of 4 pairs of Mallards. Did you know that Mallards are the ancestors of almost all ducks. They pair up only until the female lays her eggs then the male leaves,huh, just like a man!!!!!!
Before you go to bed at night give your troubles to God!!!! Good Night and God Bless.

THE DAY AFTER !! CHALLENGING AND UPLIFTING!!!

Up at daybreak,didn't sleep much last night just imagining what we would find this morning.
Yes it is bad,as we dawned our hip waders and pitchforks I wasn't looking forward to a busy morning. As we walked down our driveway to the pasture gate we got our first glimpse of how much water ran through our yard.Our driveway looks really bad. As we walked across the pasture that dark curtain looking thing in the back ground is the fence on the upper side of our property.This is an up close view,at least it is still standing,just bent over under a heavy load of corn stalks,old hay and dead uprooted and cut weeds and grass,along with a plastic bucket,a plastic trash can,a big piece of plastic and some large pieces of wood and limbs. After a little while this was the finished product. We'll have to burn the piles or move them with the trackhoe to higher ground when they dry out. From there it was on to the next project,as we walked along the creek still running very high I was thanking Jesus for being able to work like we were doing,maybe that's what keeps us healthy! I'll take yoga and exercise tapes in the living room floor anyday, but maybe that's not the way it is supposed to be! A whole flock of mallards were enjoying the flood waters still left in the bottom pasture. The colors on the males are so striking, he looked so proud escorting his mate on the water,I counted 6 pairs of mallards frolicking in the warm sunshine.It's amazing if we will just look around how God always puts something to brighten an otherwise trying morning.When I snapped this photo my mood instantly improved just looking at this beautiful bird. I couldn't help but laugh at Annie,who at times acted like this was a hot summer day and she needed the water to cool off,running,jumping and splashing all the time we were working.Here she is as she paused for me to take a picture of her,unfortunately that mound in the background is our road fence. This was the hardest job,we didn't know if we were going to be able to lift some of the larger limbs and logs off the wire,but surprisingly we finally got the wire free,stood the metal post back up and put rocks against the bottoms to hold them until the ground dries out.We had to roll a couple of the large pieces back into our pasture to be picked up with the tractor later. Hubbie walked back to the house to get some wire and fence staples to repair some broken places and while he was gone I took some more pictures. I discovered that the water had left very noticeable water lines on all the trees.It almost looks like they have veils wrapped around them.Looks like the water here was about 4 1/2 feet deep. This small ditch runs from our farm pond to the creek and usually has no water in it at all,today was different and I don't think this will be a small ditch anymore! The flooding last night was the worst since hurricanes Francis and Ivan hit this area within a week of each other in 2004. That was when the fences that we repaired today were put up,because in that flood our fences were actually gone,so it can get a lot worse than it was today.I think it's just that the older I get these tasks seem a lot more daunting. I thought this picture was kind of special with the sun's reflection creating all these little pillow shaped sparkles. I didn't have to look to far to find things to make me smile this morning. God provided His special touches and I found them. He also must have provided some help for aging farmers who share a special love for this land. I was very surprised when I downloaded my pictures to see what appears to be someone working along side hubbie and me this morning. If you'll go back up and enlarge the picture where we have all the little piles of brush,you'll see hubbie bent over one of the piles,I promise you I was holding the camera taking the picture,if you look along the fence line in the back ground you can see our helper! A figure slightly bending toward the fence helping to straighten the wires! This is hubbie's jacket hung on a fence post that seems to have taken on the form of an unknown helper, and even our son who was planning to bring his machine down to clean off the road fence it looked so bad was surprised that we got all this done by ourselves and did it before lunch.Just maybe we were not alone?????? This is a rare picture of Annie and Sadie calmly side by side,usually if they are together they are wrestling around and playing,maybe they saw something we didn't and it captured their attention. They were really good to stay really close by me today,instead of going off chasing whatever moved.
The rest of our day was pretty normal,hubbie scraped the ruts out of the driveway with the tractor,it's amazing now there are not many signs of just how bad the flooding was. The vehicle that ran in the water was towed early this morning.
G-son spent the afternoon here while his dad worked on his dump truck and his pawpaw did some painting this afternoon when he got back from the dentist. Daughter fixed us some chicken chili for supper tonight,it was delicious. She left for volleyball practice,I'm blogging early tonight,as my muscles are telling me just how hard I worked today,so I'm looking forward to a hot bath and an early,uneventful bedtime tonight.
As this day started out with the dread of damaged scenes dancing before my doubting eyes,it ends with a renewed faith in God and the humbling knowledge that He is always beside us in good and bad ,happy and sad times,if we only take the time to look for Him!!!!!!!!!!
Good Night and God Bless.