LOOKING BACK AT FEBRUARY 2013

Looking back over the month of February this year doesn't have any major happenings,there is good news and bad news as in any month. The weather has been mostly wet but the temperatures have stayed high enough so that all was rain except a couple light dustings of snow and one pretty bad ice storm. No school days have been missed due to weather only a couple delays.

Other parts of the country can't say the same thing as there have been several huge snowstorms come across and swing north of us during this month.
On Ground Hog day all the locals did see their shadows so their prediction was 6 more weeks of winter.
A surprising thing that happened this month was a visit from a man from the NCDOT to make an offer on some of our property for the new bridge and road that they are starting in late spring. The road is going away from us so we didn't expect them to need anything on our side of the road. Turns out the utility company needed a little over 1/4 acre from us ,quite a bit from #2 son and even a small piece from #1 son. Their offers were generous thankfully as there wasn't really any recourse but to sell.
I made it to several of daughter's JV girls basketball games and one varsity game during this month. It was great to see her coaching and the girls doing such a good job.

I spent many hours of what I call "tax" month working on rearranging my office and changed desk to one a friend had given me several years ago that was stored in the barn. I also managed to get daughter's and our taxes done,since #2 son is having to pay ,although I have all the figures ready to go I will wait to file his until later.

Valentines day comes and goes around here just as any other day except for my decorations which I enjoy both at home and at market.

Hubbie and I received a very nice gift from one of my blogger friends, 2 free tickets to the Biltmore House which we used on a very nice Friday near the end of the month and had a wonderful time exploring the winter gardens there.

On a sad note a life long neighbor passed away this month, Lavinia was 90 years old and had been in failing health for several years,God bless her family.
With all the rain and above normal temperatures on several days the daffodils are blooming and my plum trees are already budded out for a heavy harvest.

Other trees and flowers aren't as far along this year as they were last year thankfully.
All in all this has been a typical February dreary winter month. There haven't been too many days that it was nice to be outside doing anything but I am grateful for all the moisture that has actually put us on the more moisture than needed side of the drought monitor.

#1 son has put in many hours of overtime working to keep the roads clear of ice and snow and blown down trees this month with his work at the DOT.
Everyone else had a pretty routine month with no big events good or bad happening in our family.
As this month ends with cold temps and snow showers around, March is set to come in like a lion,a cold snowy lion, may that say that it will go out like a lamb.
Looking forward to the blessings and challenges God will put in our lives in the month of March.
Good bye February ,welcome March  2013 !
 

TAXES DONE !!!

Hurried through my routine morning schedule today so I could get an early start into to town to do my weekly shopping and errands. The weather is saying maybe snow flurries by 10am.It sure feels cold enough for snow today in the mid 30's with a brisk breeze.
I was surprised at how empty the streets and stores were at this time of day, maybe I should do this more often. I finished everything in record time, grabbed a free cup of coffee at the bank and headed home.
Got everything put away and ate part of a rotisserie chicken I picked up at Ingles because I was so hungry and they smelled sooooo good !!!
I've only seen a few stray snow flakes blowing around this morning and now the sun is shining so guess we can call the snow off for the day.
The next 48 hours look iffy for some snow for us ???

I spent the afternoon buried in tax figures and got our taxes done for the year,yea !!!
I panicked when it was time to print the returns and right in the middle of it my printer ran out of black ink , trying everything I could without loosing where I was on the tax site I tried to change to the colored ink to no avail. Finally the crazy thing just started printing and finished the job,thankfully and in black ink !!!
Just as hubbie got home from work I was finishing up so we did a happy dance about our refund and then headed outside to do the chores in a really cold evening.
I found some water inside my garden shed this morning so we checked the roof to see if we could find a leak. Hubbie raked all the leaves off and we saw no limbs that might have punched a hole or any sign of a hole so next time it rains I need to check to see where the water maybe coming in.
After supper we watched a UNC/Clemson basketball game which UNC won.
Daughter came by tonight to pick up her dog Tipper who has spent the last 4 days with us  while she was in  Greensboro. Tipper loves her stays over here with all our dogs to play with but as I watched her and daughter getting ready to leave tonight it was obvious she was ready to go home.
On this last day of February 2013 I am thankful for all this months blessings and look forward to what God has in store for my family in the next month. A look back will be in a separate post.
Good Night and God Bless.
                                                                                                                                   

BEAUTIFUL DAY TAKES AWAY WINTER BLAHS

Woke to a totally different looking morning with the sun shining brightly. However as I pulled out of the driveway taking g-son to school I noticed the road looked like it might have some ice on it and sure enough some shady spots and bridges along the way were very icy. On the way home I met #1 son in a salt and sand truck spreading on the icy spots.
There was a bad wreck just up the road soon after I got home but don't know if slick roads had anything to do with it or not. At least no one got badly hurt.
After chores and devotions I vacuumed and mopped all my floors and did a bit more paper shredding before lunch.
It is still a really nice day so I went outside for a nice long walk. The sun felt good on my face as I walked. This  sky sure looks different than yesterday's thankfully we have days like this mixed in with the dreary days to help us get through the winter.

Daughter called on her way back from a NCWISE conference in Greensboro and asked if I could pick up her jeep at Fatz cafe in town and take it back to school. She wasn't going to make it back in time to catch the basketball team at school so she was meeting them at Fatz cafe where they were having an early supper before traveling to their second round play-off game at Mt. Heritage High school.
G-son was tired this afternoon and went to sleep in the van on the way back home from delivering daughter's jeep.
After chores and supper I did weekly paperwork and payed bills. I also did more shredding.
I worked on my taxes today and with one day left in February I'm determined to get them done tomorrow,wish me luck !!!
Daughter called and said her team lost the game tonight so their season is finished for this year.
Watched Survivor on TV tonight and am headed to bed early as I didn't sleep well last night and am feeling the effects tonight.
Thanking God for His gracious blessing of today.
Good Night and God Bless.

ICY TUESDAY

Winter seems to be making it's fury known around here this morning. The phone ringing at 6am with a message from the school system saying there would be a 2-hour delay let me know what kind of day it would be.
D-in-love waited out the darkness and brought g-son on her way to work.
It is always a long morning for him with the two extra hours before he goes to school. As I did chores and looked around at the icicles growing longer by the minute as the rain continued to come down I was surprised that school wasn't completely canceled for today.

We left for school just before 10am and made it fine,the roads didn't have any ice on them at 33 degrees but the trees along the way looked pretty scary in places.
As I pulled out of the school drive after dropping him off I was still surprised that they had school.

Back home I was glad to be spending the day inside unlike my son's who I pray for as I know they are both out in the mess,one delivering mail and the other working to keep the roads open by cutting trees that keep falling from the weight of the ice into the roads.
My plum buds have a protective coating of ice today.

Different sections of our county got varying amounts of ice that hung around all morning defying the weather men who all said it would be gone by 9am.

The Laurel Park section got heavy icing accumulations and many downed power lines.These next photos are from the local media website, for sure I wasn't driving around taking pics in this.

The icicles continued to get longer as the rain kept falling hard at times all morning.

Love this Angel with her "tears of ice" at one of the local church cemeteries.

Now the weather gurus are saying more ice and snow starting tomorrow night and lasting all the way through Saturday. March may come in like a lion for sure this year !

Maybe we just thought we were going to get by with another mild winter this year??
I was glad to stay in the nice warm house doing laundry and housework and more tax work today. I held my breath all day that our power would stay on as thousands around the county lost theirs.
When it was time to pick g-son up the ice was a distant memory in our area,thankfully. He had a good day at school and was hungry when we got home.
While he played this evening I began shredding an entire years old papers to make room for this years addition.
My shredder over heats periodically so I have to take many breaks from my shredding.
#2 son came by this evening to e-mail some info for the purchase of a piece of property that is in short sale. Maybe this is the beginning of the purchase process for him.
The temperature hasn't gotten above 37 degrees all day and I poured out 2 inches of rain from the gauge at chore time with a light misty rain still falling.
Mud,mud and more mud  oh boy !!!
God knows what He is doing and why He does everything He does so I feel safe in His decisions.
Good Night and God Bless.

MISSIONARY FRIENDS MAKE IT TO AFRICA

Woke to another dreary morning as g-son was getting his breakfast and getting ready for school I did morning chores while hubbie took him to school.
After breakfast I buried myself in taxes while hubbie worked outside pruning our fruit trees.
I finished daughter's taxes  and started on son's but need to get more info to finish his.
My brain is boggled with enough figures by lunchtime anyway.
After lunch I drove out to Verizon to check into getting an I-phone. After conversing with a very nice and informative young man I decided to think about it and crunch some numbers first.
Another problem is I have always wore my cell phone on my pants waistband because I don't carry a purse all the time and the I-phone is pretty large to wear like this.   When the young man saw my hesitation he asked me why I wanted an I-phone and when I really didn't have a good answer I started to question this even more. Decisions, decisions !!!
After picking up g-son we came home and he ate everything that wasn't nailed down this afternoon. He forgot his lunch box at school so I don't know if he ate his lunch or not although he said he did.
Maybe another growing spurt is happening !
Talked to daughter tonight after her team's play-off game at North Lincoln and they won so they live to play another game on Wednesday night. At least this one will be closer to home as they play Mt. Heritage in Yancey County.
Tonight I ran across a blog of a young couple that I am so proud of. The young man in this photo with the crown on his head,Travis being escorted by daughter and then escorting daughter on homecoming night, who was always one of daughter's and #2 son's good friends

and his wife, who also was one of daughter's friends and volleyball team mates ( Lauren is third from right standing) have taken a step that so many would not even think about.

This couple has chosen to follow God's calling, giving up their safe and secure jobs with the public school system and electing to become career missionaries.  After months and months of training in various locations with the last one being last fall in Vancouver where they celebrated Christmas.

They have finally arrived at their long awaited destination in Africa just a couple weeks ago after beginning this adventure several years ago. They have a heart for the African people.
Here they are in their new home.

This is Lauren waiting for 5 minutes of electricity to chop some onions and garlic.

This is the church they now attend.

And this is Africa's answer to breakfast on the go !!

This young couple needs lots of prayer as they adjust to their new very different lifestyle for at least the next 3 years.  I know they will miss family and friends here and life will be very hard for them. I pray that they meet and exceed each milestone they encounter and I know that God is with them as they are spreading His love among the African people.
They have a blog called Keeping Up With the Joneses  on blogger if you care to check in on them on their journey.
As I watched the evening news they surprised us with another winter weather advisory for possible icy roads overnight.
If they continue to call for this sooner or later they are going to be right !!

Another night of going to bed wondering what the weather will bring in the morning !
Thankful tonight for God's blessings of the day and praying for Travis and Lauren as they adjust to a new way of life on God's missionary fields.
Good Night and God Bless.

WONDERFUL SUNDAY

Getting ready for church this morning I was interrupted by a loud thud on the living room window. I went to investigate this time and found no little attled bird like g-son and I found one morning last week.
G-son came screaming into the kitchen one morning last week saying a little bird was dead on the front porch from trying to fly through the window.
I found this little guy very woozy sitting on the tray of an old antique baby stroller I have on the porch.

This little Downy Woodpecker had knocked herself silly against the window in the early morning haze. G-son had to touch her to make sure she was still alive. She was but I wasn't sure she would be for long, however when I got back from school she had flown away.
I would have posted this on the day it happened but totally forgot about it until I downloaded some photos from my camera today.
After church we had a lunch with only daughter present. #1 son's family went to other parents today and #2 son is golfing on this beautiful 60 degree sunny afternoon.
Hubbie and I decided to go out to the local high school which is less than a mile away and walk the cross country trail.
It was a bit cooler than I expected and in only my shirt I was wishing for a light jacket as a breeze kicked up and cooled the air.
This is a really good trail for walking with twist and turns and up and down hills. It is well kept up by the school and very pretty.
All the little streams had nice wooden bridges built I'm sure by the carpentry class at school.

I loved these old trees along the trail and want to make this a routine thing so I can watch the seasonal changes in these woods.

The trail winds around through these woods and a practice soccer field and heads back up to the football field house.

I forgot a camera today and made these pics with my cell phone. Next time I will surely take my camera for more interesting shots as we heard the chirps of ducks and bull frogs in all the streams that meandered along the trail.
The trail plus a trip around the school buildings made for about a 45 minute walk.
We made it back home in time for hubbie to see the end of the Daytona 500 race on TV so all was good.
#2 son came by after his golfing trip and took a plate of food home for his supper.
I took my 4-legged kids outside and sat in the patio to watch the sun set in a perfectly clear sky.

I noticed the neighbor has added a mule to the pasture across the road with his cattle in hopes that he would keep the coyotes at bay while the cows calve.

The temperature got uncomfortably cool quickly and we headed inside for the evening.
Thankful tonight for the glorious blessings of this beautiful world we live in.
Good Night and God Bless.

SURPRISINGLY BUSY MARKET DAY

Another dreary,foggy,rainy morning.
Market was surprisingly better than I would have thought for this kind of day. I had to laugh when an "out of towner" came through and asked if the sun ever shines around here?
As I catch up on my blog reading between customers and chat with neighbors to make the time pass I said a silent prayer for all the rain that puts much needed moisture in the ground even if we all complain about it !
Hubbie left early to make a stop at Sam's Club on his way home.
After market I made stops at Ace Hardware for some "on sale" birdseed and suet cakes they had and to Harris Teeter to pick up a few groceries. I also went by the library to pick up tax forms but they don't have them any more and said they didn't think anyone carried free forms anymore with the internet access to print your own.  Just made me think about the folks who don't have computers. It is scary to realize how much we do depend on the technology of today and what if it suddenly disappeared ??
My generation is old or young enough to still remember how to do things the old paper way but what about the younger generations??  What will they do if suddenly there is no internet ???
When the internet first came to be I resisted buying a computer until my daughter was a junior in high school and by that time she couldn't do some of her school work without one.
I made the comment then, I thought that was way too much knowledge to put at everyone's fingertips.
I still believe it will play a large part in the ruination of humanity,when? , only God knows the answer to that question.
Well because this has been a boring evening and I tend to think blog post are boring without photo's here is the next weeks weather.

God is always gracious and good and He blesses me each day with undeserved blessings that I do my best to glorify Him for.
Good Night and God Bless

COLD RAINY FRIDAY

After taking g-son to school and finishing morning chores I enjoyed a nice nap on this rainy cool morning snuggled with my 4-legged kids. I am still feeling the lingering effects of the nasty cold I fought off earlier this week.
After lunch I baked 6 caramel cakes before beginning the boring task of gathering figures for tax forms. Although I do taxes on line I like to figure on paper first to make sure I have everything I need before I begin the on-line forms. Both daughter's and #2 son's will change significantly this year so I am going tomorrow to see if I can pick up some free forms instead of having to print them off.
I picked g-son up today as other g-ma had something to do on this Friday afternoon. He looked very handsome today as he had his spring picture made.
His dad came to pick him up early so he could get ready for a fun night at church with all his friends.
The weather has been nasty all day with light rain and cool upper 30's temps. I poured almost an inch of rain from the gauge at choretime.
I am gearing up for a boring time buried in tax figures for the next week as February is tax month for me and I have waited until the last week to get this done. Since the government said they would delay refunds anyway I haven't saw the need to hurry it along.
I iced the caramel cakes and bagged my Avon orders for delivery tomorrow.
I am feeling almost back to normal tonight as I relax in a hot bath before bedtime.
Thankful for today's blessings as I look forward to God's love in my life each night.
Good Night and God Bless.

PHONE COMPANY TROUBLES

After getting g-son to school and doing all the morning chores I was just about to head out the door to run errands in town when the phone repairman called coming my way.
After he checked out the box on the outside and declared a dead short somewhere on the line he left to check the main box out the road. After quite awhile he called to tell me he couldn't fix my problem because he needed a bucket truck to reach the problem line where he had narrowed the short down to. He was calling back into report his findings and have a truck come this way.
I went on into town and got my weekly errands done and got back home before they showed up.
This guy acted as if he didn't know anything about what the guy earlier had found so he checked the box outside the house. This time he said it showed a dead short inside the house. He came in and checked all my phones and computer modem and found no short. When we got back outside the guy that was with him had checked the line between the house and main box and found no problem.
The only answer they came up with was that a receiver must have been dislodged on one of my phones. I know that wasn't the case and reminded them that it wasn't me who made the call for a bucket truck because a line was bad. Now suddenly all my phones and internet are working perfectly.
I have no idea what will come of this but I do know that if the problem is inside your home there is a $85 service fee. After this fiasco with the two different repairmen I don't know how my phones just miraculously started working again but if  AT&T decides to charge me that fee hubbie and I have talked tonight and it will be the last money they get from us as we will cancel our phone and internet service with them.
It was a warm afternoon so I decided to do some work in my sewing shop. I cut out 11 large bonnets,9 medium bonnets, 3 baby bonnets and 6 full aprons before my back started hurting.
Enough to keep me busy on the upcoming cold rainy ,icy, snowy days.
Speaking of which we are expecting another winter blast overnight and into tomorrow according to our weather forecasters.

Makes me wonder what the morning will be like !!  It is still 43 degrees at 10:30 tonight so it has a ways to go to get icy or snowy.
I am feeling much better with my cold today,still have to carry a kleenex  with me but no watery eyes of sinus pain. I will probably take another dose of Nyquil tonight just to insure a good nights sleep.
Thankful to God for the hidden blessings in each day.
Good Night and God Bless.

NASTY HEAD COLD STARTS SUDDENLY

Without a trace of fever this morning g-son is ready to go back to school. This is a good day to ease back into the routine because it is an early dismissal day, students leave at 1:00. If his fever does re-appear it probably won't be until after 1:00 anyway.
I came home did chores in a bone chilling windy morning and came inside for a second cup of hot coffee to warm my bones.
Just as I was finishing my devotions the left side of my nose started burning badly. In just minutes I had a very runny nose,was sneezing my head off and battling to see clearly through watery eyes !!
I have been thankfully praying that I have made it this long without catching any of the junk I've been around. I don't think this is from g-son as it would be too soon for me to catch whatever he has.
Hopefully mine is just a nasty head cold. After an Alka-Seltzer cold I do feel better and the sneezing is at a minimum.
I am still cold and can't seem to get warm today while listening to the howling wind outside.
The temperature is 44 just before 1pm, the sun is shining but clouds are quickly moving in.
These daffodils are really showing off early this year.

I was afraid these cold 20 or below nights would cause them to shrivel and drop their blooms but so far so good. They have a perfect location on the sunny south side of the house.
I spent most of the day sneezing and wiping my runny nose and eyes so not much got done. I did manage to get an Avon order on line and call AT&T to report that my phone was dead . They assured me it would be fixed today but that didn't happen. I don't know whats up with them,as this is the second time I have been forgotten and had to call back to get this phone fixed. I should just have it cut off,we hardly ever use it but old habits die hard around here ! However if they don't fix the darn thing it will make my decision an easy one.
As time to pick up g-son came 2 hours earlier today the car rider line was twice as long as folks struggled to make other arrangements for their kids.

 When my kids were in school they did away with these early dismissal days because of the problems it caused for working parents but they have now brought them back to give the teachers more time without students.
G-son was back to normal this afternoon and he played and we read books until his dad picked him up.
I did chores and had chicken soup for supper to hopefully make me feel better. I did weekly paperwork, then watched Survivor.
After I finish with this blog I am going to take a hot steamy bath and a good dose of nyquil to hopefully help me get a good night's sleep.
God loves everyone and asked for very little in return.
Good Night and God Bless.

FEBRUARY BASKETBALL 2003

When d-in-love brought g-son in this morning he didn't want anything to eat,all he wanted to do was wrap up in a blanket and watch TV.
He still has a low grade fever when he finally woke up and let me take it around 8am it was 99.4.
He ate some waffles for breakfast and then got up and played for the morning. He followed me up and down the stairs as I did laundry and housework.
He looked and acted like he was totally over his sickness.

At lunch he didn't want to eat yet so I ate then went to work to finish re-arranging my office. I finally finished and even got to work on a photo project for awhile this afternoon.
G-son asked for mac and cheese but by the time I got it fixed for him his fever came back. He didn't eat and when I took his temp about 1:30 it was 100 . He said he felt really bad again,bless his heart !
I told him a nap might  help, so after making a call to mom to update her on him and giving him a dose of tylenol I turned the TV and lights off in the living room and wrapped him up in blankets with some favorite stuffed animal friends. He slept for over an hour and woke up thrashing out from under all his covers saying how hot he was. His fever had broken again and he immediately felt lots better.
He ate waffles and then had some cheese sticks dipped in ranch dressing.
Who knows what is going on with him ??  D-in-love called the Dr. and they said if he still runs the fever through the night to bring him in tomorrow to check for an infection somewhere.
After chores this evening I poured out 1/10th inch of rain from a hard shower early this morning.
Aaron the renter brought snowball a roll of hay just as we finished chores this evening,she'll be happy for a while.
Daughter's basketball team played their last conference game tonight at Tuscola HS in Haywood county. They played the #1 team in their conference,Pisgah and lost pretty badly.
They made the state play-offs so they do live to play at least one more game !
Basketball in February isn't new for daughter who played the game since she was 9 years old.
In her senior year of high school she was one of the best players around and still holds some records at the high school she now coaches at.
In February 2003 she received the honor of "player of the week" from the local newspaper.

She also reach a high school career mile stone of 1000 points during this month. When the 1000th point went through the hoop the game was stopped and she was presented with the game ball.

Posing with the proud parents after the game !

She loved her team mates,they were all very good friends.

I also traded cars that month and bought this 1999 Izusu Trooper which was a very good vehicle that we kept for several years.

As I sit and type this I can hear the wind howling outside tonight and the temperature is 38 at 10:00 headed they say for around 20 again tonight.
Thankful tonight for the blessings of the day and praying for g-son to shake off whatever he has.
A big thank you to all who donated to daughter's BB/BS fundraiser .
Good Night and God Bless.

CHANCE TO DONATE TO BIG BROTHERS/BIG SISTERS ORGANIZATION

G-son isn't feeling well this morning and is running a low grade fever so no school for him today.
Son called last night to ask if I minded keeping him sick,I don't mind as long as it's not a stomach sickness. I do not like those since I can't throw up without passing out due to my hyperactive vagel nerve.
Hubbie left early to meet daughter at the jeep dealership where she bought her jeep so he could  take her back to work while they changed her oil and rotated tires on a special offer they sent her.
I did chores and had breakfast while he was gone and we were all ready to do some shopping errands when he got back.
Hubbie needed a new pair of tennis shoes so we went to a sale at GBS shoes,where we both got new tennis shoes ! G-son found a pair he liked but they didn't have his size.
From there we picked up chicken feed at Southern States ,a toy for a really good boy at Walmart, lunch at Sam's club with some groceries, birdseed at Tractor Supply and daughter's jeep at the shop and delivered it back to her workplace on our way home.
G-son seemed to be feeling better after another dose of Tylenol during lunch. He played for the afternoon while hubbie worked outside pruning our muscadine grapes and I worked in my office. I can't believe I'm still not done in there !!
By the time #1 son got here to pick g-son up he was asleep on the couch and feeling a little warm again since he slept through his dose of tylenol this afternoon.
When they got home and took his fever it was only 99.9.
He complained through the day with different things so we have no idea what is going on with him.
Winter weather is raring it's head again tonight and early in the morning,maybe!!
Putting us under a winter weather advisory for in the morning and sending #1 son to work at 6am again.

There is a lot of moisture coming our way,just depends on what the mountains do to it when it crosses them.

Today started off really cold but warmed up nicely this afternoon.

I took this photo of the setting sun this evening, thinking it will be the last day in quite a few by the forecast that I will see the sun.

I need some quiet alone days to work on taxes but looks like tomorrow won't be one of them as g-son isn't going to school again.
Praying tonight that he feels better quickly and doesn't share whatever he has !!
As I close I want to say how proud I am of daughter and her endeavers. She has mentored several young girls through the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. If you have followed my blog long you know the story of the latest one,Kate, who is now at UNCG and doing remarkably well determined not to fall into the footsteps of her upbringing.
Daughter is always doing something for someone so she is participating in this fundraiser for the Big Brothers/ Big Sisters organization. I am posting a link to allow any of my readers who would like to donate to this cause to help her reach her fundraising goal can do so.

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/TracyHorne/bowl-for-kids-sake-henderson-county?mid=zLsWAA2

Thanks in advance !!  And prayers are always appreciated for all the kids involved in this very worth while organization.
God bless and keep us as we go through each day.
Good Night and God Bless.