SUMMERLIKE LAST DAY OF JANUARY

As this last day of January begins all warm and sunny I am in my regular routine of chores,breakfast,my morning walk along with hanging a couple laundry loads of blankets and covers on the clothesline for the solar dryer to work it's magic on today, all this before heading out to pick up g-son from pre-school.
After lunch it was housework and laundry until mid afternoon when we went outside to spend a couple hours enjoying this weather.

After dad picked him up hubbie and I did our exercises and settled down to watch a UNC/ WakeForest b-ball game on TV, which UNC won.

As this first month of 2012 comes to an end,I'll have to say it has been an enjoyable month although a strange one.
With no snow and very few cold temperature days it has not felt much like the recent Januaries we've had.
Our family started the month out in celebration of a late Christmas on New Years Day with all of Hubbie's family at our house.

After several years of very long hair I decided to have it cut shorter this month and I'm glad I did.

I have spent much of the month deep cleaning my house. Things I don't do but once a year like taking everything off shelves and out of cabinets. I also have been working on organizing all my photos again this year. This has been a several year project as I only have time to work on it during winter months.
I also managed to get some sewing projects cut out while the weather was warm.
There were rainy days almost each week but plenty of very nice days that g-son and I enjoyed being outside on.

As of the first week of the month I no longer worked as our church janitor, a job I had held since the new sanctuary and offices were built in 2006. The officers of the church decided they wanted to combine the 2 janitor positions into one and they wanted me to take it but it required to much time so they began a search for someone to fill the position. D-in-love decided she would try it and so far it has worked out well for her. I now pick g-son up from pre-school 3 or 4 days a week and keep him all afternoon.
As I said earlier in this post this has been a strange January and these blooming Daffodils prove that .

 This sight is a rare one for the last day of January for sure.
As the sun sets on this last day of January, I wonder what February will bring?

God knows and because of that I know it will be all right with me !!
Good Night and God Bless.

BOYS AND DOGS

An early morning for g-son as his dad has to be at work at 7:30 today. He was not in a good mood this morning and nothing pleased him. Hope the teachers at school fair better with him.
Hubbie stopped and got a haircut on the way home and I was just finishing the chores when he got here.
We had breakfast and I worked my morning crossword puzzle as we made a list for Sam's Club.
After we picked up g-son still in a funk we went shopping and got lunch at Sam's. Had a nice visit with the minister that married #1 son who was babysitting his granddaughter while his family shopped.
When we got home hubbie worked on the automobiles this afternoon, changing oil in one and checking all fluid levels in others. G-son was happy inside for a while so I did a couple loads of month ending laundry to get a head start on tomorrow. It was so nice today, a sunny 55 degrees, that I hung our comforter out on the line to dry. Tomorrow is supposed to be mid 60's after a chilly 30 degree night.
G-son and I went outside to play for awhile this afternoon.
Boys and dogs they just attract each other I think ......

Bernie and Dolly watch as he zips his jacket in anticipation of an outside run.

Daughter's dog Tipper who was visiting today loves to give him kisses......

His dad picked him up just before chore time.
He is really worried about the apples in the county with this warm weather they will bud too early.
No apples mean no work for him.
After chores and a salad supper hubbie and I did our exercises. I made both of us doctors appointments today with a new doctor in Asheville. We felt like we needed a doctor over there  so if we need to go to the hospital it will be easier to go to Mission.
I also took our blood pressure tonight and Hubbie's is still borderline high. Mine is almost normal.

#2 son called and needed a haircut from hubbie so while they did that I went back to my photo organization. I hung with it tonight until I finished all the oldest photos. Now I'm up to the 2000's. I need to buy more file boxes for these years. At least maybe I will recognize the people in these pics unlike the older photos.
The first month of the new year is almost gone. This has been an unusual January weatherwise for sure and it looks like February is going to start out the same.

 Normally at the end of January we are sighing a sigh of relief that winter is about 1/2 over but this year we are holding our breath wondering when and if we are actually going to have a winter.
I am sure God has a plan for the weather as well as everything else and it will be reveled in His own time. Trust and Obey, for there's no other way !!!
Good Night and God Bless.

ENJOYABLE SUNDAY AND A LOOK BACK IN TIME

A more January feeling morning greeted me as I hurried through chores before getting ready for church today.
We had a nice service today and the church was really full.
Back home I quickly put chicken leg and thigh quarters in smoker bags and got the oven started.
We had corn, green beans, mac and cheese and hubbie made a new coleslaw recipe that #1 son brought in last week. I'm not a big coleslaw  lover but this was really good. The chicken not so hot as this was my first smoker bag trial and I think I just need to buy a small smoker grill and be done with it. We love smoked meat but just don't know if we would use a smoker enough to justify the cost.
After lunch and when the kitchen was cleaned #1 son took the tractor to his house to scrape his driveway, #2 son went to the grocery store, daughter and Kate her "little sister" who ate with us today left and d-in-love, hubbie, g-son and I headed over to the estate sales 1/2 price sale to get a couple saws hubbie spotted Friday.
I also bought a box of old newspapers which have some of the earliest pictures of Hendersonville in them.
This is the earliest known photo of Main Street taken around 1890.

Here is the farmers at the depot waiting to load their produce on the train.

I remember my dad telling stories of driving a wagon to town pulled by a team of oxen. Now I know why and I wonder if one of these wagons belongs to some of my family members?

The other papers have photos of many surrounding areas around the turn of the century. I'll have to get some of them in future blogs.
I almost payed full price Friday for these which was $10 but today thankfully they were still there and for $5. I have already gotten more than my monies worth of enjoyment from them !!
Hubbie got one of the saws he was wanting plus a couple other tools and a fertilizer spreader so it was a successful trip.
I worked on my picture organization project this evening after we watched the UNC/Georgia Tech b-ball game,which UNC won.
G-son will be coming really early in the morning so I'm calling it a day.
The weather all day has been more like January is supposed to be, even though the temperature said 48 and the sun was bright the breeze made it a day you wanted to be inside.
Tonight is supposed to be a mid 20's night.
Looks like January will leave as calmly as it came in weatherwise.
Thankful tonight for a wonderful Sunday full of loving family and blessing from God.
Good Night and God Bless.

HAD ANOTHER SLOW MARKET DAY

G-son slept between us last night and hardly moved. Usually he is all over the bed but at almost time to get up this morning was the first time he flopped upside down. As we got ready for market and did the morning outside chores he had 2 waffles with chocolate milk for breakfast.
He was a help carrying things into market,all the other vendors bragged on his job and he was really proud.
After we got set up he played games on my laptop and ate a cheese biscuit from Mcdonalds.  #1 son got off work earlier than expected and came to pick him up before lunch. Hubbie had already left to pick up animal feed and get over to daughter's to finish work on her fence.
Market is a vacant place this morning. It is a beautiful day so the weather can't be an excuse today.

 My table wasn't getting emptied to quickly today .

But I'm smiling as I am thankful for what I did sell.

I left market a little early to escape the annual meeting crowd today. I don't usually stay for these meetings and today I felt like I didn't need extra stress from some of the people's comments that are made at these meetings. I talked with the chairman of our board and he said there wasn't anything special going on and it would be a boring ,quick meeting.
The rumor of an increase in our rent fees was just a rumor and he said they would not be going up.
He told me all the figures that would be discussed and any old business that might be brought up so I feel like I'm well informed.
I stopped at Chick-fil-a to pick up a salad on the way home and checked out a parking lot sale beside it but didn't find anything I even wanted.
After unloading the van I sat down and ate my salad. Hubbie and #2 son are still fence building at daughter's house.
As soon as I finished eating my stomach didn't feel right and I made several trips to the bathroom in the next little while. It was strange because I didn't feel sick or have any pain so I have no idea what caused this sudden onset but I'm glad it didn't last long.
I worked on my photo arranging some more as I had picked up the old photo copies from Walgreens today. I really like how this arrangement for the old pics is turning out.
Hubbie and #2 son made it home finally just as I went out to do the evening chores.
The temperature says 41 but it feels much colder to me.
Hubbie ate supper alone tonight as I don't think I should put anything heavy in my stomach just yet. I had a few crackers with cheese a little later.
As hubbie and I relaxed tonight trying to find something on TV to watch we stumbled across an Alaskan winter survival show which was very interesting. We watched it for 2 hours until the news came on.
I'm blogging late tonight and keep hitting the wrong keys as I'm so tired. Hopefully I won't misspell to many words.
Thanking God for the blessing of sales today and for keeping me and my family safe today.
Good Night and God Bless.

NICE DAY FOLLOWS STROMY NIGHT

A cooler dryer morning welcomed me today. The sun was winning the battle with the clouds thankfully.

I found no wind damage except for some limbs around the yard and there was only 1/2 " of rain in the gauge so that meant last night's storm blew through faster than predicted,thankfully.
After chores , breakfast and my morning walk I baked 16 cake layers and a pound cake for market. I also baked my last acorn squash from my garden for lunch, I love to halve these and fill them with butter and brown sugar,yummy !!
After lunch I found a spot out of the still windy day and got a nice warm dose of vitamin D with the temperature at 50 degrees it felt really good.
This afternoon I worked on my old photo project and got to a point where I realized I needed some prints of the old pics cousins and friends have sent me by email and I had stored on my computer. So I sent a print order off to Walgreens to be picked up tomorrow on the way home.
I also went over to my friends to pick up my Avon order and to the estate sale place I usually go to. Sis-in-law came there to meet me and also hubbie came by after he got off work. Unfortunately no one found anything this time.
Sis-in-law had gotten me a bunch of sugar and chocolate chips from our local Food Lion grocery store 50% off sale. They are going out of business and were selling out all their stock. I love for her to keep an eye out for deals I can use.
Back home after we finished chores, hubbie went to Lowes with daughter to return some things from her fence and buy the wire she wanted. Tomorrow is #2 son's last day off so he and hubbie plan to get her wire up and finish the fence tomorrow afternoon.
I iced cakes and got things ready for Market tomorrow while waiting for g-son to come over to spend the night with us. His mom and dad are both going to work very early in the morning so he's better off sleeping here tonight.
He was funny, while his dad was here he acted sad and kept saying he wanted to go home and come back in the morning,but as soon as his dad was out the door he was laughing and having a ball running from one of us to the other for a tickle game. Maybe he just wanted dad to feel guilty !!!
The sky is clear as a bell tonight and an astronomer's paradise. I'm no astronomer but I can recognize the big and little dippers and tonight it was hard to miss them as this pic of the little dipper shows.

Click on the pic for the full effect .

G-son is fast asleep and hubbie just went to join him. I'm off to take a hot bath and then I'll join them.
Grateful to God tonight for the blessings of a loving family and especially for the love of my Heavenly Father.
Good Night and God Bless.

2002 DECADE MEMORIES AND A STORMY END TO THIS DAY

As I looked out the window early this morning I knew the blah rainy days were returning as the dark clouds hung low.
I had a cake delivery this morning so I ran errands and did my weekly shopping while I was in town. Most of the stores I went into had few shoppers in them so it made my trips quick and I got home before lunch.
I'll have to remember this because this is way better than spending the entire afternoon doing these  errands.
After lunch I went down to my sewing shop to do some cutting. On this cloudy very warm day it is the ideal time to work out here as I don't have to bundle up.
I worked out there for almost 3 hours to the horror of my back muscles. As they screamed at me loudly I came inside and got on the heating pad as I relaxed out in the sunroom waiting for hubbie to get home from work.

Even with the muscle catches in my middle back I was pleased to have gotten all this cut out and ready to sew up. I cut out   4 adult jean aprons,  4 child's jean aprons,  3 full bibbed aprons, 7 baby bonnets,  2 medium bonnets,  and 5 large bonnets.
Since I moved my machines inside at least I don't have to wait for a warm day to sew these up. I have so many projects going on right now I'm going to have to schedule some time each day for each project.

The rain started about chore time tonight and has gotten harder as the night has went on and now the wind is howling out there. The weather wizards say we are out of the severe weather area but listening to that wind I'm beginning to wonder !!!!
In the decade picture project I couldn't find any 1992 January pictures and only this Basketball picture of daughter in January 2002.   Although a lot of time was spent in basketball gyms that month as daughter was in her junior year in highschool and #2 son was playing for Montreat College on a basketball scholarship.

She was #35 and was the top scorer on her team.

After exercises tonight hubbie and I watched a UNC/NC State b-ball game which UNC won.
Praying tonight that the winds and rain don't cause any damage over night for us or anyone in the way of these storms.
Thanking God for all the blessings of the day.
Good Night and God Bless.

ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL DAY

As I lounged in bed listening to the news before getting up this morning I got a call from d-in-love asking if g-son could come on over instead of going to school. He wasn't feeling great and had a nasty cough and runny nose.
While I was doing the chores she brought him by and we came inside and he ate 2 waffles for breakfast then acted like he felt normal. His nose was a little runny and he looked a little pale but he settled down in front of the TV while I did my housework.
After lunch he wanted something sweet so we made brownies,which he did all the stirring and pouring and was so proud of them he stood at the oven and with the light on watched as they cooked.
With the weather so nice again today we headed outside this afternoon.
It was a freezy pop kinda day,62 degrees.

 These are usually a summertime treat but this weather feels almost like summer.

We played outside until mom came to pick him up early today .
These last couple of days are what makes winter time bearable. A good dose of Vitamin D is good for the soul as well as everything else.
After he left I came inside and cleaned up the living room where he had all his toys scattered.
Today while I was playing with g-son I discovered a large hole dug right against the foundation of the house . When hubbie came home I showed it to him and he poked a stick way down in it and found it went very deep right against  the blocks of the foundation. Not good if rain gets down in there and seeps into the basement. We hauled dirt and rocks and filled that one and several more holes we found in the surrounding plant beds up. Hubbie thinks it is a large rat but we are afraid to put out poison because of the dogs.
After chores we had loaded baked potatoes for supper, rested awhile and then I exercised alone as hubbie has a headache.
I did our weekly paperwork tonight before watching the Duke/Maryland b-ball game which Duke won.
This has been a bad news night. First d-in-love text me saying  friends of theirs who were expecting their first baby in 2 months lost it today. So sad for this young couple as well as all the family.
Then sis-in-law called with the news about a cousin  of ours that had been diagnosed with a brain tumor and the news is not good at all today.
I am praying for both these hurting families tonight. I pray that God comforts them in the way I know he can during this time and guides them through their grief.
So many sad things are happening around me right now I am forever thankful that I and my family are thriving and happy in these days. God is a wonderful loving God and I know He won't bring anyone to anything He won't help them through.
Good Night and God Bless.

DEFINITION OF THE WORD "BOY"

I haven't posted pictures of g-son in a while and he has gotten so tall and slender. I love his hair all grown out, it makes him look smarter and so grown up !!!
I had to let my work go this afternoon and get out in the nice warm, 60 degrees, sunny day with him and spend some time doing whatever he wanted to do. He had a lot of ideas as you can see from the photos.
This morning as I started my day the raindrops and mud lingered around our farm.

After chores I took Bernie and Dolly with me on my walk as I had to stay up here in the driveway to avoid the mud. Dolly enjoying the sunshine.

I finished up the morning with laundry and housework until it was time to pick up g-son.
There were several things that needed doing today but they can wait as I took time to enjoy this beautiful day in the middle of a very dreary weather spell.
I cooked a crockpot full of 7-bean soup mixture plus some of my canned tomato/okra mixture with some frozen New Years Day left over ham and boy was it good this evening for supper.
#2 son who had been at daughter's all day working on her fence came by to bring hubbie's truck back and he ate supper with us. I know it was good soup because son usually doesn't like soup but he went back for a second bowl tonight.
His week off has been anything but like a vacation as he has already been to the dentist on Monday and is going back Thursday and Friday mornings to have some fillings, crowns and maybe a root canal,yuck !!  To give him something else to do this week besides build his sister's fence, the emergency brake cable broke in his jeep today as he parked it in the yard to pick up the truck. 
Daughter should be happy with her fence as he is almost finished with it. He is a very good brother !!
Hubbie and I exercised tonight and then relaxed for the evening.
It is going to be a cold night as it is 38 already at 10:00 and with the clear sky we'll probably drop 10 more degrees before morning.
My plans to get to bed earlier tonight are going into effect tonight as I'm done with my blogging before 11:00 and am headed to bath and bed.
Thanking God for a wonderful day and all the blessings that have filled it.
Good Night and God Bless.

RAINY REFLECTIVE DAY

Yeah !!! This describes the weather here this morning. As I snoozed in the nice warm bed after #1 son called and said he wasn't working today so he would be taking g-son to school and getting him today.I could hear the rain pounding on the roof and felt like I could have just stayed in bed all day.
I dragged myself up and out in the sloggy ,muddy morning to open the chicken house doors and switch the dogs in the lot. Neither animal or fowl was to happy to be turned out this morning.
After breakfast hubbie and I talked about going to the grocery store but the rain started pouring down again and we decided we would just stay home this morning.
#1 son brought g-son by for lunch so he could go out to the local community college to check on some classes and look for job finding help.
The rainy front passed out of our area about 1:00 so #2 son and hubbie headed over to daughter's to start work on her fence.
G-son and I spent a dreary cold afternoon inside. He carried more toys from his playroom to the living room and played well.
I finished our bedroom cleaning and started in my office. I soon realized to really clean my office I needed to get the picture organization done. So I went through most of the oldest photos and clippings to separate them into years. The 40's, 50's and earlier were my main project today and to my surprise some of the photos in the old albums had dates on the back. Not names or places but at least dates.
 As the evening came the sun actually peeked out and really steamed things up right at sunset after 1" of rainfall from this system.

#1 son came after g-son before chore time and hubbie came home just after dark.
We had a salad supper and then did our nightly exercise routine. I went back to my old photos but didn't get them entirely finished so tomorrow is another day. Hopefully I can get outside for a while tomorrow as it is supposed to be a warm sunny day, maybe the only one this week !!!
As I went through the old pictures today it made me more glad than ever that I decided to do this blog. When I look at the faces of the folks in the photos I wonder what they were like and what their life was like.
At least through this blog the generations to follow will know something about me and what my life was like.
Grateful to God for a nice rainy day to reflect on the early days of my family. And grateful to have the Bible of a grandfather I wasn't fortunate enough to meet but through this Bible know his love for God.
Good Night and God Bless

JANUARY 1982 A MORE SNOWY MONTH

Another dreary cloudy morning as I hurried through chores and got ready for church.
I have a white Silkie hen who wants to set so badly but I'm afraid it is just to early and I know it is bound to get cold more this winter.(surely)
So she growls at me each day when I take the eggs from under her that the other hens lay in her box.
Church was nice today but uneventful. Daughter had to help her friend with the smaller children today and #1 son's family didn't make it.
We had pot roast from the crock pot, green beans,corn and mashed potatoes for lunch with apple crumb cake for dessert from the frozen apple slices I put in the freezer.
After we ate hubbie, #2 son and daughter headed to Lowes to get the supplies for her split rail fence she wants to go around her back yard. #2 son is off this week and he is going to build it for her.
#1 son's family went home to continue their house cleaning.
I piddled around the house this afternoon,not really accomplishing anything but getting ideas for this weeks deep cleaning chores.
I relaxed and watched a women's b-ball game on TV between Duke and Maryland which Duke won but it was a very close game all the way.
The clouds have hung on all day and the temperature has dropped slowly,at evening chore time it was 38 degrees and very foggy and damp. It is supposed to start raining later tonight and last until noon tomorrow. The ground is so saturated and muddy that I have to very careful where I step so I won't slide down.
To move along with more decade pictures in 1982 we had a more typical January.
Snow sledding was fun in those early days for all of us big kids. My 2 brothers and their wives joined hubbie and I for a cold afternoon ride. This is Hubbie taking his turn while we all watch from the top of the hill.

This is my oldest brother's wife being pushed by her husband with my younger brother looking on.

This is my younger brother's wife whizzing down the hill.

And this is me looking at the long walk back up the hill carrying the tube. These big truck tire innner tubes made the best sleds and were light to carry !!!!

That year Hubbie and I didn't own but one four -wheel drive and I was driving it to work. So there was so much snow we bought Hubbie an old 1969 Rambler to drive back and forth to his work place.
This is me standing in front of it at my mom's house.

The rear end is sitting low because Hubbie had it loaded down with firewood to give him more traction in the snow and ice.
Looking at this snow makes me kinda wish for a snow fall here at least a small one before winter is over !
After this week of cleaning  is finished I have several task to tackle along with February tax time and one of them is continuing with my photograph organization. The ones I have done so far make it so easy to find pics from any given event or time and I need to get the remainder of them in order.
I also need to get started on my next blog book to catch me up again to where I am now. These 2 things along with sewing will make the blah days of February very busy. March is usually my sewing month due to the weather being warmer but since I moved my machines inside that isn't an issue any longer so I'm hoping to get some things made in February.
But before I make February plans I need to accomplish my January task of doing the deep cleaning of the entire house. In this last week I need to do our bedroom, my office and g-son's room.
Speaking of g-son he will be here early in the morning so it is time to sign off and get ready for bed.
Thanking God for my blessings today and for the opportunity to worship Him with my church family.
Good Night and God Bless.

RAINY SLOW MARKET SATURDAY

At least the rain held off through morning chores and until we got things set up at market and then the skies opened up and it poured for a while. Hubbie waited in the market until it slacked up so he could stop by the feed store for chicken feed and bird seed.
Thankfully it only rained very hard for about 30 minutes or that would have been a sure flood.
Market was very slow as I had expected and I crocheted towel tops on 4 towels while I waited for 2:00 to get there. I'm thankful for what I did sell as a few people came in especially for caramel cakes for birthdays and  a few other things.
I sat up some Valentines decoration and finally remembered to take a Christmas wall hanging down.
After market I headed straight home and hubbie helped me unload before we relaxed on a rainy afternoon.We watched a Duke/ Florida State b-ball game in which FSU won on a last second shot.
The rain stopped just before chore time and when I checked the rain gauge there was about an inch in there. The temperature has been around 50 all day but this evening it is getting cooler fast with the cold front moving through. Rain is supposed to be back tomorrow afternoon after a cold start to the day.

This is an interesting cloud formation.

Hubbie and I were invited to a church staff dinner tonight but decided not to go as I have been feeling so up and down with my stomach the past few days I really didn't feel like going out into a crowd and having a late dinner.
Daughter called and said both her youth basketball teams won their games today. She was going home to fix dinner for her b-friend.
I re-arranged some of my make-up and toiletries on my bathroom shelves tonight. I need to do something different in there but I can't decide what. I need more storage space !!
I did accomplish a lipstick organization which should help greatly. Usually I wind up wearing the same color lipstick because my collection of lipstick colors were all jumbled together and it took to long to find the color I wanted,not to mention the color name is printed so small I can't read it.With the help of a magnifying glass I separated all the colors and used index cards to group the colors. Now I just can't find a place to store them !!
This has been a nice relaxing evening .
God has been so good to me and I am prayerfully grateful each and everyday. May all the Glory be to Him.
Good Night and God Bless.

ANOTHER DEEP CLEANING DAY AND MORE RAIN

Cloudy skies where here again this morning as I walked after finishing the morning chores. The temperature was still in the low 30's and with all these clouds it makes for a raw day outside.
I spent the morning re-potting some Aloe plant that got too big for the pot it was in and re-potting a Spider plant so it will hang in front of the window instead of sitting on the shelf. I also baked 3 cakes for market tomorrow. I expect it to really be a slow day as the hard rain is predicted to fall in the morning during market time.
After picking up g-son we had lunch at home and he played while I cleaned more cabinets. I finished the kitchen, the hall closet and part of the bathroom cabinets before hubbie got home from work and I headed outside to do the evening chores.
#1 son came to pick up g-son just before the rains began .
Hubbie and I had supper and then did our exercises to make up for not doing them last night. I only have a couple cakes to ice tonight so this Friday night is not a regular one.
Daughter brought her baking by tonight as she has an early b-ball game in the morning. She had a bad baking night like I had last week as one of her Apply/walnut cakes fell apart when she took it out of the pan. So we will have that for dessert for Sunday.
I'm hoping to finish my cleaning chores early next week as I am getting bored with that task and need to move on to something at least different !!!
My shoulder is not hurting at all today after sleeping on a heating pad last night so maybe it was just a catch instead of a pulled muscle.
Grateful for God for a day filled with blessings.
Good Night and God Bless.

JANUARY 1972 STARTED OUT SADLY

Today has been one of those days for me that leaves me scratching my head about things.
Before the alarm sounded this morning I was up feeling like I had an upset stomach. I turned off the alarm in hopes that a little more sleep would help. When I awoke about an hour later my stomach was fine but that shoulder muscle that has been giving me trouble had decided to declare war on me. I couldn't even get a deep breath it was so painful.
I dragged myself through chores and ate breakfast before getting out the heating pad for awhile.
About 30 minutes of intense heat helped enough that I went walking on this nice sunny but cool day. The 35 degree temperature is normal for us in January.
I came back inside and cleaned a little more in the kitchen without any climbing and reaching !
After lunch I went into town to run weekly errands and make an Avon delivery to a friend of mine. We had a nice visit but my shoulder began throbbing again so I headed home and back to the heating pad.
I did chores and watched another beautiful sunset this evening.

Another front is moving through the area creating clouds and color.
To top the day off as I watched the news tonight my stomach ache flared up again out of the blue and I felt I was really going to get sick. With no supper and a couple hours flat on my back the sickness went away again. I have no idea what is going on with that ????
I've had a really layed back evening of watching b-ball games, first Duke/ Wake which Duke won handily and then UNC/ Virginia Tech which UNC won pretty handily also. At least something went right today.
My shoulder feels a little better tonight and I'm shortly going to give it a good soak in a hot tub.
But first I wanted to get some decade pictures on here.
I found nothing in January of 1962 but January of 1972 was a sad month with the death of my mom's closest Sister. My Aunt Gertie Mae had a stroke right after Christmas and died on Dec. 30 and was buried on January 1,1972.

She was a good aunt but tried to mother me some of the time with advice about boys. She always wanted a daughter of her own but had 2 boys. Our 2 families always got together at one or the other's house every Sunday afternoon so I felt like I had 2 mothers.She was a chain smoker and always had a cigarette balanced on her lower lip which I never figured out why it didn't fall out.

Back in those days everyone sent flowers.
One of my other cousins made a tribute to aunt Gertie Mae who was an avid quilter.

The little poem on this collage tells of the love she had for all.
It says ...........    THOUGH IT MAY BE FADED AND WORN, TIME CANNOT DIM THE BEAUTY OF A QUILT______OR THE LOVE IN THE HEART OF THE MAKER !!
RIP Aunt Gertie and know that you were loved and I still miss you even after 40 years !

The other main thing in my life in January 1972 was basketball. This was my senior year, I was captain of the team and a fairly good player. This is a newspaper clipping of me and some of the other stand out players that season.

God is good all the time and I'm glad I can leave all my troubles with Him and go to bed and dream sweet dreams.
Good Night and God Bless.

DOLLY GETS A NEW DOO

This was a much nicer sky picture this morning at chore time but it sure was colder than it has been. There was 1/2" of rain in the gauge from last night but not a cloud in the sky this morning however it is 35 and won't get much higher all day,brrr.
I took a short walk this morning but the wind started blowing and I decided to come in and warm up.
I took Dolly to the groomer on my way to pick up g-son from pre-school.

He was the last to leave and put all the toys away without being asked. His teachers were very pleased.
We came home for lunch then he played while I worked on the high shelves in my kitchen getting things all cleaned and dusted.
Years ago hubbie made me this shelf to hold my old bottle collection.

Most of these old bottles came from the basement of my mom and dad's old house. My mother kept every glass jar she ever bought anything in. When I asked her about the pile of glass jars once she said after going through the depression she couldn't bare to throw these useful jars and bottles away for fear they might be needed again. I have old glass coke bottles made in almost every coke plant in the country including the one that used to be right here in town,
I also have some newer collectibles on top of my china cabinet.

Some of these things are used and that photo is a newspaper photo about our cattle several years ago as they looked out over our frozen farm pond.
#1 son came after g-son just before the groomer called for me to pick up Dolly.
This is how she looked this morning as we were leaving.

And this is what she looks like now after the grooming, she's a new dog !!!

Bless her heart she has just slept most of the evening as if relieved to have this day over with.
Hubbie and I groom both Dolly and Bernie ourselves most of the time but from time to time I take her to get a professional job because of the course hair and some places I just can't get to. Plus we just can't afford too many $41 haircuts at our house !!!!
Hubbie and I had our weekly supper of  fresh Kale greens tonight with a baked potato also stored from our garden.
After our nightly exercise I spent the evening buried in weekly paperwork and bill paying.
It is a cold night with temps expected to be low 20's with wind .
We have a fire upstairs and downstairs tonight and it is still cool in the house so the nice warm bed covers are going to feel good tonight.
I vacuumed the floors today along with another day of up and down on my ladder so my back and legs will be extra glad to snuggle down in bed for a nice winter's nap.
Grateful to God tonight for the blessings of the day and for His endless love for all.
Good Night and God Bless.

ANOTHER JANUARY THUNDER STORM

Got an early wake up nudge from Dolly this morning as she needed to potty earlier than usual. I was afraid she might be sick but she has had no other signs so she just needed to go a little early I guess.
After chores and breakfast I took my morning walk in this nice warm but very cloudy morning. This was the only blue sky I could find as I walked around the drive and garden so I could head back inside if the rain started.

I spent the morning doing laundry and housework before it was time to pick up g-son from pre-school.
By now it was misting rain so we came straight home and had lunch. He had Ramen noodles today and I had vegetable soup.
I continued my house work Tuesday while he played and watched TV. I went outside to shake out rugs and couldn't believe how warm it was under the still cloudy skies.
I finished my regular cleaning and then did the deep cleaning in my sunroom. I took all the Blue Willow dishes down off the walls and dusted them. My legs are sore tonight from climbing my little ladder over and over again but everything out there is clean.

#1 son came after g-son just before the rain started this evening. I  finished chores just before the skies opened up. Thunder and lightening again lit up the skies with the warm temperature.
Today's temperature is more than 10 degrees above normal.But look at that 1943 high for today,wow !

 And tomorrow we are going back to winter with highs only in the low 40's.

Colder, warmer, colder, warmer that has been the seesaw effect for the month of January !!
After supper and exercise tonight hubbie and I relaxed and listened to the pouring rain outside and watched the lightening streaking across the night sky.
Not a typical way to spend a January night !!??
Thankful to God tonight for His blessings of the day.
Good Night and God Bless.