2014 RECAP

Wow !  What a beautiful final sunrise of 2014 !!!

A friend of mine took this photo early this morning before I ventured out in the mid 20's temperatures.
By the time I got out on my walk the sun had risen and the fleeting clouds had turned white.

After chores and breakfast I tried to take a walk in the nice sunshine but realized the cold 30 degree windy temps called for another inside walking video !!
I started cleaning house early and after 3 loads of Christmas throws, table cloths and placemats and moving all the furniture to vacuum under it and replacing all the rugs with regular ones about 4:30 I was finally ready for a cup of tea and a short rest break.
I discovered some very sore muscles from the day's activities after sitting for only about 15 minutes !
Hubbie got off work a little early for the holidays and we did chores a little early since the temperature is dropping quickly this evening. After only reaching a high of 40 degrees it is already 34 by 5:00.
The sunset was also strikingly beautiful on this last day of the year.

Hubbie and I spent this last evening of the year relaxing in front of the TV, which I hardly ever do but it felt good to snuggle with my two 4-legged kids on this cold evening.

The last day of 2014 ?  That still doesn't seem possible to me that this day is already here.
This has been a good year for me and my family, we have been blessed countless times and are forever grateful to God for these blessings.
To re-cap the year in short form starting with a record breaking cold January, here we go.
#2 son closed on his newest home on the 3rd day of this month.  The tree cutting crews moved in to clear the right of way for the new bridge on the road by our farm to begin months of work.  We saw and felt the first 0 and below temperatures we have had in several years this month. Snow fell on the 29th and the cold continued so it hung around for several days of sledding fun.  On a sad note for the month one of hubbie's first cousin's husbands ,Wesley Medlin, died.

February.......The ground hog predicted 6 more weeks of winter weather on the 2nd day of the month and he would be right. We had more cold temps and another big snowfall on the 13th of the month providing more no school days and sledding fun. Sadly the cold claimed the life of our old milk cow, Snowball.   We had a really bad scare as Re was in an automobile accident, was hit head on , totaling her SUV but luckily for her and little EL, who was with her they only received cuts and bruises.
To show the changing February weather by the 19th on the month we had our first terrible thunder and lightening storm and tornado warning for the area. I got my first smart phone as my contract ended and the I-phone 4 was free with the next years contract.  The second month in this year also ended with a funeral as a long time friend and Curb Market vendor, Dorothy Barnwell, died peacefully at home while watching TV.

March..........Started out like it always does with the celebration of #2 son's birthday, he turned 31 years young this year, daughter turned  29 on the 26th and little EL turned 1 on the 31st.  We had snow fall on the 7th and again on the 25th.March lived up to it's windy reputation and we finally got some early gardening done at the end of the month.

April.........My 2 day Curb Market weeks began with the first of the month.I had my yearly physical and I decided to go on the doctor's weight loss management plan. Spring came in with rain, snow and freezing temperatures and turned our early garden into a bucket garden ! We celebrated Easter on the 20th with a wonderful church service and lunch. D-in-law turned 32 on the 24th.

May.........May was a pretty calm month, we got our summer garden planted as we enjoyed the bounty of the early spring garden. I had a wonderful Mother's day . I planted flowers all around the yard and got some really interesting ones with a trip to the Garden Jubilee downtown. Re discovers she is pregnant with #2 .

June.......Old Timey day at the Curb Market is always on the first Saturday of this month.  We also made a trip to the Pickens flea market.  First grade ended for g-son and he began a fun summer with a trip to the church E-camps with has dad and his aunt T as they were chaperones. He also went to Cub Scout daycamp for the first time.  Hubbie enjoyed a great father's day and his 59th birthday this month. Bernie one of our little 4-legged kids had to spend a night in the hospital very sick after licking some tomato spray from the leaves.

July........This month began a very busy canning and preserving season for us as Re, daughter and I spent countless hours in my kitchen with canners on the stove full of green beans, tomatoes, salsa, spaghetti sauce and pepper relish.  We had a great family get-together to celebrate independence day.
They closed the road while they replaced the old bridge which led to more than a month of extensive detours for all of us to get anywhere.  The girls surprised me with an early birthday gift of my first ever professional pedicure before we headed off on our beach vacation.  Ocean Isle was our vacation destination this year for the last week in the month. I turned 60 years old on the last day of the month while we were at the beach.

August........After we got back home from the beach it was back to my kitchen for more canning and we added grape juice and jelly from a bumper crop of grapes from the vines in our yard. I met my weight loss goal about mid month and feel so much more energetic. Thankfully the bridge was completed and the road re-opened without the final layer of payment before school started back.
D-in-love started a new job at the elementary school where g-son goes, she is the new receptionist after the lady that has been there since my kids went there retired. Sadly for her and #1 son she also discovered she had a false pregnancy this month.
I had a yearly visit from my newly found cousins from Texas and Ohio and the Apple festival was in town at the end of this month.

September.......Daughter's volleyball season started and I attended as many games as I could along with Re, El and d-in-love. There was more grapes and apples so jelly making continued as well as dehydrating some of the end of garden vegetables.  They finished the final layer of pavement and paved our driveway so the road is officially completed.

October......An early freeze warning on the 4th of the month.  We are pleased with our new neighbors as Aa and Re closed on the property across the road from our farm.  We made another trip to the Pickens flea market as well as attended the annual draw down athletic fundraiser at the high school daughter teaches at.  We had our first flood since the new higher bridge on the 14th. Unfortunately it flooded overnight so we couldn't really see what the water did.
We celebrated 2 birthdays on the 16th of the month as #1 son turned 33 and g-son turned 8 years old on the same day.Daughter stayed busy all month with volleyball play-offs as her team went to the fourth round before losing. She had one afternoon off before basketball practice started.
Hubbie and I voted early in the elections at the end of the month.

November.......A snowy first day of November broke records to start a month long cold spell that would leave this November as the coldest on record to date. We had a late inside trunk or treat on the evening of that first snowy day and the attendance was super surprising.  Hubbie and I made a shopping trip to Ikea to get a new extendable dining room table.  I helped daughter car shop and she finally decided on an Acura ISL over Thanksgiving break for the first new car she had ever owned.
Thanksgiving was great with the family all here this year and we met daughter's new boyfriend for the first time.  Curb Market celebrated our Old Timey Christmas on the Saturday after Thanksgiving and we decorated the church in our Hanging of the Greens service on the Sunday night after Thanksgiving.  Basketball games started for daughter and #2 son's busy Christmas season at the Post Office began.

December........To off set the cold November, December was an unseasonable warm month. I had a very busy baking month as I had several large cake orders and had a hard time finding time to get all my decorations up.  On the 10th we had some snowflakes blowing around but that was it for winter weather for the entire month.  We attended all the school and church Christmas programs to help get in the Christmas spirit. Hubbie and I celebrated our 35th anniversary on the 21st with a Pandora bracelet he bought for me.  Christmas was a great time for all with extended family celebrations as well as our Christmas Eve celebration. Thankfully everyone stayed well this year all through all the activities.
A sad note to end this month was the loss of another friend and market vendor Eunice Lyda.

This is the snow cover for the entire country on this last day of 2014.

As I sit here typing and listening to the New Years Eve celebrations gearing up on TV I am thinking back over the last year and all the wonderful times I have had , all the laughs,all the happy and all the sad times, I realize the happy times far out weigh the sad times and like always I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father who is always there for me.
I don't do resolutions, instead I make pledges to God that I will be more thankful and faithful in the coming year as I view each day as a gift and pray each night that I may find a new way tomorrow to glorify the name of Jesus Christ , my Lord and Savior.
Good Night, God Bless and Happy New Year !!!!

RAINY NEW YEAR'S EVE EVE

Slosh,slip and slide , I am getting multiple leg exercises gliding through all the mud around here. I emptied only 2/10ths inch of rain from the gauge this morning but it is still lightly raining.
After chores and breakfast I headed out to town to run weekly banking and P.O. errands.
As I drove home I found myself all alone on the road so I slowed down to take in some rainy day, winter scenery.

 Lots of mud everywhere !

 I'm glad we still need these "horse rider" signs along our country roads.

Love these Alpacas .

 

Entering my "gated community"  haha.

 My "gate keepers"  !!!

After lunch I got all the filled decoration containers hauled down to the shed and put away for another year.
I then started putting my regular things back on the shelves after washing them and getting all the ornaments off the tree so we could decide if it was going to fit in any of our containers.
The one new ornament for this year was this one from Ocean Isle where we spent our beach vacation this year.

I worked on this project all afternoon except for a walking video break.
Little EL came to stay while her mom went to her doctor again today.  Baby is in position, so we are just waiting for him to choose the time for his entry.
Daughter's team won their tournament finals tonight, playing a much better game than they did last night.
Hubbie and I took the Christmas tree apart and tried to get it in the biggest container we have but it was too big so we put it back together and covered it with a sheet downstairs.
I am afraid to set it out in the shed as the mice might get in there and chew the wires of the lights up.
While I was downstairs I watered all the plants wintering in there. This Escargo Begonia sat on my front porch all summer with its beautiful leaves and now inside the basement it is blooming beautifully.

It has really gotten cold this evening with a temperature at chore time of 39 with still misty rain falling.
The fire feels good tonight for sure and after working to get all the regular shelf sitters back in place I watched the UNC / William&Mary basketball game which UNC won pretty handily.
I saw this interesting map on the weather channel website . This is the "greenest" place on earth.
It is because of all the corn crops grown in the hot pink areas that release a fluorescent glow that can be seen by space satelites.

One more day in 2014 , wow ,  I for one am looking forward to see what plans God has for me in 2015.
So very very grateful for the blessings of this entire year.
Good Night and God Bless.

UN-DECORATING BEGINS, TOP STORIES AND UNDATED PHOTOS

Another rainy morning, I emptied 1/2" of rain from the gauge after our overnight showers.
After chores and breakfast I finally took our mailman's Christmas gift down and put it in the mailbox for him today. He is a great mailman and brings me packages all the time. I knew he wasn't working last week so that's why his gift is late.
I got laundry started and then started my un-decorating. I really don't mind this job because it gives me time once again to go over all the memories my decorations evoke and I always have more time to get them packed up than I do to get them all out and up.
I took a break and did a walking video on the internet to get some exercising in since the weather outside has been so nasty lately and not fit for outside walking.
I did chores early so I could go out to the high school and watch daughter's varsity girls team playing in a holiday tournament they are sponsoring at 4:00.
G-son was going with me while his mom went shopping but his dad came home just in time so he stayed with him. He isn't much of a sports fan !!
Daughter's team won their game and I came home to finish folding the last load of laundry and continue my un-decorating.

Tonight I also did all the weekly paperwork since the banks and PO will be closed once again on this Thursday, I'll run errands tomorrow.
At the end of each year our local paper publishes the 10 top stories of that year for our area.
In 2014 the #1 story was the court's decision to override the wishes of the voters and let gay couples get married in N.C.
The #2 story was the trial of Travis McGraw who killed his wife Vanessa Mintz back on Feb 19,2011 and kept the trial postponed until this year when the jury found him guilty of first degree murder.
#3 was the call for clean up of the coal ash ponds around the Duke Energy plant at lake Julian.
#4 was Hendersonville high school winning its 3rd state volleyball championship.
#5  an early morning fire in April burned the Ivy Apartments in downtown leaving 10 families without homes but fortunately only minor injuries occured.
#6 was the dismissal of  7 seasoned law enforcement officers with the re-election of the the sheriff.
#7 story was the change in the drug war in Henderson county as prescription drugs and heroin became the top abused substances .
#8 story was the battle of a local family (and cousin of mine) over the foreclosure of their home when the banks shuffled the home from bank to bank, losing the payment records during the shuffle but refusing to talk to the home owners until elected officials got involved.
#9 was the election changes brought in the November local elections.
#10 story was about a young deputy that was charged with misconduct with a female student in the high school he was an officer in.
Yeah, some of these stories are pretty lame but that is a good thing. It means that there were no major stories happening in our sleepy little tourist town this past year and that is something we certainly can be thankful for.
The last of the decade pics for this month are these undated ones. My uncle Homer and his car and girlfriends.

 My aunt Winnie and her class.

 As I listened to the weather tonight looks like we are in for some cooler, dry weather to end this year with.
Grateful for a year filled with many undeserved blessings and the constant love of my Lord.
Good Night and God Bless.

HAPPY AND SAD SUNDAY

None of the promised rain yet this morning as I head out to do the chores.
As I got ready for church on this last Sunday of 2014, I thought how this year seems to have slipped through my fingers just as all the years lately have done the same. 
I was a greeter at church this morning so I headed out a little earlier. As I started out a light misty rain started falling, enough to make me change to a hooded coat just in case it gets heavier by the time church is over.
The service was good today, from Luke and the story of the birth of Jesus.  We had an entire family join our church this morning, mom, dad and 2 teenagers, may the glory be to God.
Everyone made it to a lunch of beef stew and corn bread on this warm cloudy spring like Sunday. It seemed strange to have the doors open in the house on the last days of the year.
We had a nice visit while these two best buddies watched "Dumbo" on TV.

After everyone left to their own Sunday afternoon activities hubbie and I hauled all the empty plastic containers up out of the shed so I can get the inside decorations down tomorrow. We put them all on the front porch under the roof in case the rain still materializes.
After chores I caught up on my blog book reading. It was fun to read back over the last 5 year's Christmas activities.
I love all the photo Christmas cards I receive each year . I enjoy comparing the kids changes each year. These are the cards I received this year.

 I thought about leaving all the cards and decorations up for awhile just to get to enjoy them a little longer now that things have slowed down but I am in the mood now to get them down and packed away for another year so with the taking down of the cards the clean up begins !!
Another sign of the times as soon as winter begins each year, it seems to trigger Curb Market member losses, not only people leaving because of slow sales, but deaths of some of our older members.
Eunice Lyda has been at market long before I started coming. Her mother was a member long before that. I loved talking to Eunice and if I had questions concerning any plant or vegetable I always went to her for the answers. I remember the last puzzle I took to her and she quickly solved it for me with a chuckle and a warning to get rid of that stuff before it takes over your yard.
It was the dreaded "Air Potato Vine" that I have been trying to eradicate from around my front porch ever since she told me this.

  She said she was surprised to see it growing this far north as it was a problem more in Florida and the southern most states.  When I looked it up online she was exactly correct even with the normal locations of the vine. I  will miss  the opportunity to pick at her wealth of  knowledge of nature.
I also remember  a special relationship with Eunice and Garland as they were fellow poultry farmers with my dad when I was growing up. At their farm today just like at our farm the long narrow chicken houses still stand with different uses now.
R.I.P. Eunice, you will be missed.

Praying tonight that God comfort this family, especially Garland the husband as he did so well in taking care of Eunice as long as possible.  God Bless and Comfort during this time.
Good Night and God Bless.

SLOW POST CHRISTMAS MARKET DAY

Off to market on another warm morning today and market was as I had expected veeeerrryyy slow.
I did have a three cake order and a 2 cake order picked up so I had a decent day but I dread the days to come that I don't have any orders.
I didn't have anyone to talk to even with none of the neighbors there today. A couple of the new people that came in this year cleaned their tables off this morning and gave up their spaces. This happens every year at this time and panic sets in about what if we can't fill those spaces with renters that give the market it's income necessary to pay its bills.  Somehow it always works out but each year I think it gets worse and this year is especially concerning because the large antique business next door has closed and put their place up for sale. I have heard a couple rumors about who is trying to buy the almost entire city block that the old building is on. The business was called "The Next to New Shop" and had booths rented out to different vendors as well as sold things from an estate liquidation service they ran. It was a neat place to shop in as I have purchased several things in there.

I came straight home from market without making any stops as I will have to go back to town this week anyway and will need to wait to see what kind of orders I might get for next Saurday.
I love to find shapes in the clouds and this cloud reminds me of a barking dog. Do you see it ?

After hubbie helped me unload the van we took a rest and watched the UNC/ UAB basketball game which UNC won handily.
After chores and supper we watched the news of the 6th named winter storm, Frona, already headed across the country dropping more snow in the same places that Eris did a few days ago.

Eris.....Frona ......  who the heck comes up with these names ???
D-in-love sent me this collage of g-son and Santa pics.  I love them all and can't believe how he has grown.

It is fun to see the years when he would not sit on the jolly man's lap but rather stood beside him, haha!!
This was a really nice relaxing Saturday night with country music shows on TV and catching up on my blogging.
Grateful for the love of our precious Savior and looking forward to worshiping Him with my brothers and sisters in Christ tomorrow.
Good Night and God Bless.

GETTING BACK TO NORMAL AND 2004 ANNIVERSARY

A getting back to normal Friday morning started off with really nice spring feeling temperatures and sunshine.
After chores and breakfast I had baking to get done for market tomorrow. I baked 6 caramel, 3 chocolate, 1 coconut and 2 pound cakes to fill some orders.
I am sure market will be a ghost town tomorrow after the big holiday. I can only hope for some late Christmas or New Years party purchases.
Little EL came to stay with hubbie and I while her mom went to her weekly Dr appointment. Baby is in position and could make his appearance any day.
We played while she was gone and had some lunch.  She still likes to try to toot the horn ornaments on the tree.

After her mom picked her up hubbie and I went to Ingles to pick up some groceries and to Aldi to get a humidifier they had just gotten in to try to moisten the air in our bedroom. The wood stove is drying out our sinus and giving us runny noses every day.
Back home we spent the afternoon outside in the nice 59 degree sunshine taking down all the outside Christmas decorations and putting them away.
I have been very lucky this year as I got to put them up in nice warm sunshine and take them down in nice warm sunshine. I wanted to get them put away before the rain moves back in tomorrow night and I had hubbie to climb up and down the ladder for the higher lights today.
The clouds began moving in this evening creating a beautiful sunset.

After chores I did some paperwork and then iced the cakes. I feel like I am forgetting something tonight with only this small amount of icing to do.
In decade pictures for December 2004 I found this anniversary card from the kids. In 2004 we celebrated a milestone 25th year of marriage.

Speaking of cards I got a Christmas card today from a first cousin up in Michigan with some bad news in it. I lost one of my first cousins up there to cancer and his sister had the same very rare skin cancer but she caught hers soon enough to save herself. They had Merkel Cell Carcinoma and very rare but aggressive form of skin cancer.  We don't keep in touch with this cousin set and I was surprised to read in the card that he actually died last January.  Guess it is better to get the news late than never, my heart goes out to his wife , children and sisters up there.
I found his obit online. He was the son of my mom's sister Carol.

I have memories of running and playing with Bobby when we were kids and his mom and dad would visit us every summer. R.I.P. Bobby.
Grateful to God tonight for my health and for His grace to let me live a healthy life.
Good Night and God Bless.

LAZY CHRISTMAS DAY

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!

A very nice Christmas morning greeted us today as the sun streamed in the bedroom windows. It was windy so the 40's temperatures were misleading as we headed outside for the morning chores.
It didn't take long to discover what all the noise we heard when we woke up was, as  thousands of Starlings blacked the treetops and the sky intermittently as they zipped from tree to tree as a group, squawking all the time.

As quickly as they came by the time we were finished outside they were already headed over my brother's house out of sight and hearing !

D-in-love sent me these pics of g-son's surprise of what Santa left for him.

Looks like he had a great Christmas morning.
Hubbie and I relaxed this morning and did absolutely nothing for a while.
#2 son came over while g-son , his dad and Pawpaw was doing some target practice with his new BB gun that uncle D bought him.

#2 son ate lunch with us and visited awhile before going home to rest for the afternoon before going back to work tomorrow.
Daughter called after she had a Christmas breakfast with her boyfriend, Josh's family this morning, then they went to a movie.
#1 son's family went down to d-in-love's brother's house at 4:00 this afternoon to celebrate with them.
Aa's family went to his family's for Christmas today also.
It was nice for me to just have an "unwind" day and do nothing but rest.
I picked up all the left over empty boxes and bags and got the house back in order this afternoon.
After chores we had a light supper then rested some more on the couch and the recliner while we watched the news.
The fifth winter storm has been named, Eris, and has dropped more than a foot of new Christmas day snow on much of the mid western states. It will slowly make it's way across the country and give us more rain next week followed by colder temperatures to begin the new year.

Got another late gift from g-son tonight as he brought me a little bird house with what he calls me written on it.

Daughter sent me this pic of grand dog Tipper getting into her Christmas stocking.

Christmas has come and gone for another year. For me it is a very busy time but I enjoy it very much. I always get aggravated and say that I'm going to change things for next year but that attitude is always forgotten by the time next year arrives.
Christmas is a magical time for all Christians as we celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ , who was sent to earth to live and die as a mortal man so we could be forgiven for our sins. For years and years Christmas has had a magical power, World War 1 could have ended with Christmas that year .

Yes Christmas is a very special time of the year , one that fills our hearts with hope, peace, joy and love.  

 As today ends my wish is for all mankind to come to have the same love for our Savior as I do and pray that all would receive Him into their hearts with the love and joy that He so wants for each of His children.
Good Night, God Bless and Merry Christmas.