GARDENING FINALLY, A SPECIAL BIRTHDAY AND GOOD-BYE MARCH 2014

I enjoyed some extra zzzz's this morning on this last day of March 2014 while hubbie got up with g-son and took him to school.
After chores and breakfast I talked to sis-in-law Sandy for awhile catching up on her side of the family.  She had some extra apples so when hubbie and I went out to Southern States to get animal feed, fertilizer and some garden plants we stopped by her house.
After the trip to Southern States we came home for lunch.
The day is wonderful with sunny temperatures heading toward the 70's for the first time this year.
Hubbie and I started cleaning off all the fallen sticks and limbs that blew into the garden yesterday and Rebekah came over to help.
With their delayed property purchase we are gardening together this year.
This is her and hubbie planting our early vegies.

We planted potatoes,onions, lettuce,greens,radishes,peas,kholrabi,spinach,turnips, beets,swiss chard, cabbage plants and I know I forgot some of the things we planted today.
Evy enjoyed the sunshine and being outside in her little play pen beside the garden as she watched us work, it made her thirsty !!

I took a break and went to pick up g-son and he was excited to get home to see Evy.
He had his after school snack up beside the garden where he carried  a small table to eat on.
After he ate he played with Evy although he is so big there wasn't much room for the two of them in the pen.

As we finished the plantings the air got cooler with the setting sun.After  #1 son came after g-son and Rebekah and Evy left  hubbie and I put up a fence around the cabbage plants to keep out the rabbits.
We have decided to fence in the entire garden before the plants start coming up to keep the multitude of rabbits from devouring our hard work.  Last year I never got any peas and very little else from my first plantings because of all the little varmits that helped themselves each night. We are hoping a two foot high roll of chicken wire will deter the nighttime snacks.
I sat another little Silkie today, I'm afraid the little black Silkie that has been deligently sitting all during these cold nights isn't going to have any chicks hatch as today is 21 days and there is no signs of any hatching going on.
This evening was too cool to set outside with a cup of hot tea so we came inside and watched the 6:00 news and then relaxed for the evening.

Guess who's  1  year old today !!!!!!!!!!!

She sure looks different than this time last year !!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVY !!

On this last day of March I can honestly say I am glad to see March finally come to an end. Unlike most months that seen to fly by and leave me wondering how an entire month could have possibly gone by already, this March was not one of those months!!!!
With nasty cold,windy,rainy weather it seems as if winter's grip would not let go. As I shivered through many days I longed for the warm sunshine of spring. All the trees and flowers that normally make March a pretty month were not to be found this year as the cold had them keeping those buds closed tightly.  March has always been a month of funerals for me, loosing my mother,hubbie's mother,some of my favorite aunts and uncles as well as hubbie's grandmother, who was the only grandmother I ever had in past March's make this month dreaded each year and this year there were several funerals of friends and extended family.  I did have our first new life on the farm as the first batch of chicks hatched out.   And of course all the birthdays in this month fill it with brightspots and lovely memories as #1 son turned 31 on the first, Rebekah turned 28 on the 25th, daughter turned 29 on the 26th and of course the happy face above turned one year old today to close out the month with a blessed memory.
Thanking God for the blessings of this month and asking forgiveness for all the complaints in the last month as I recognize that He knows best and all things happen in His time. Looking forward to what He has in store for my family in April 2014.
Good Night and God Bless.

WINDY SUNDAY

Whew, I am very thankful this Sunday morning that we are waking up to a warm house with our electric still functioning. Last night's howling winds kept me awake for most of the night as limbs and other debris kept pounding the sides of the house and the metal roofing.
This morning the yard and garden are strewn with limbs blown from trees all around but thankfully we found no trees down.
The chickens had panicked  and rolled some of the eggs from under them, so this hatch may be hampered again by Mother Nature. A large limb had hit the top of their house and tore down the netting over the lot.  I got the netting fixed back before I turned them out into the lot.
With the winds still whipping this morning there is no use doing much cleaning up.
I put a turkey breast and some sweet potatoes in the ovens for lunch today before I left for church.
Our new Bible study sermon is beginning in chapter 3 of Genesis.  The title of the sermon was "The Fall".  As Eve fell victim to that old serpent and enticed Adam to disobey God's wishes also. 
Lunch was a full house with the exception of #2 son who is in South Carolina playing golf today.
Daughter's new boy friend came around today for the first time and seemed to have a good time.
After everyone left Hubbie and I watched a March madness game, with no favorite teams still playing it was just something to do on a windy, cool Sunday afternoon. The temperature was 57 but with the wind still gusting into the 40mph range outside was not a nice place to be today.
There were thousands of folks without power today and power companies were battling the high winds trying to get power lines back up all day.
Had a nice relaxing evening.
To finish up the decade pics for March 2014 this is the unknowns I picked for this month.

 This was a note written on the back of this pic but it leaves out the year.

One more day to go in March 2014, I can't really say that this month has flown by but rather with the cold prolonged winter temperatures, cold rain and high winds this month has been pretty long.
But as always I know God is fully in control and I can rest confidently in His love.
Good Night and God Bless.

EVY'S FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY

A rainy Saturday morning, again !!   As I sloshed through chores and got ready for market the rain was a light steady drizzle but as I got in the van and started down the driveway I met a really hard downpour that continued almost all the way to market. Thankfully we out ran it to market and got things carried inside before the heavy down pour reached there.
G-son had decided earlier he would just go home instead of market with us which was a smart decision.  He slept well last night and didn't wake me up until he hit me in the face early this morning,thankfully it was just a light tap across the nose.
As I sat and looked down the empty aisles of market I thought of all the things I could be doing instead of sitting here.
Hubbie left about 11:00 to come home as there were no errands that needed his attention on this Saturday.
Right after he left the customers started coming into market and they were buying, so much so that I completely sold out of baked goods and could have sold several more caramel cakes if I had of had them.   This time of year is so hard to predict and the weather usually has a huge impact on business, but not today.  Or maybe there just wasn't anything else to do in the rain ?
I left market a little early to go by Walgreens to pick up a photo order on my way home.
The rain has stopped for  awhile to allow us to get my bakery racks unloaded and get the ball pit and some other toys loaded to haul over to Evy's birthday site. G-son went over with hubbie and me early to help set up the games we had.  He had as much fun as the birthday girl did with all the older siblings of her friends.
Her party was scheduled to be at our house unless it rained and then it would be inside at the farm offices where her dad works.  This is a really cute invitation.

Everyone was asked to write a note in a little book instead of giving a card which I thought was a wonderful idea.
I was glad we changed the party to inside as it poured the rain while we were there, leaving almost 3/4" in the rain gauge.
She had many family and friends that gathered to make her first birthday a special one. Rebekah cooked mac and cheese, patio beans, and slaw to go with hotdogs and hamburgers grilled by Aaron.
She also made this special farm cake which I thought was one of the best creative ideas I 've seen.

This little special cake for her was a round bale of hay like her dad bales and feeds to the cows.

She enjoyed opening her gifts.

Her grandfather made her this little swing with a piece of one of his leather belts on it.

She is joined by her friend Clayton as they play with her gifts.

Then it was time to eat and have that special birthday cake !!!
"I'm supposed to do what?"    

Dad to the rescue !!!

Why should I smear it all over my face when I have a spoon ?????

This little muncher ate a huge part of this cake which was very good, I'll have to admit !!
Yeah I think Evy had a great first birthday !!!!   what do you think ?????

She had her party today and I'm sure she will get to celebrate again on Monday which is her true birthday.
As all the kids were taken home to get ready for bed and we cleaned up I thought how special this is to able to be involved with this special little family. We all are so alike and enjoy each other so much it just has to be God's hand that brought us together.
This has been a great day and a very blessed one.
Good Night and God Bless

T. G. I. F. !!

Only a half day of school today improved g-son's mood greatly this morning. 
Now if I can get over a very restless, little sleep night this day will be fine.
My nose stopped up and burned during the night causing my restlessness. By the time I realized sleep wasn't going to be easy it was too late for a dose of Nyquil.
The clouds are thick and low but the rain hasn't gotten to our area yet.
I did chores and had breakfast then listened to the rainy weekend forecast trying to decide how many cakes to bake for tomorrow.
I baked 3 chocolate, 4 pound and a blackberry wine cake before lunchtime.
After lunch I vacuumed and mopped all my floors. Today I tried out diluted Murphy's Oil soap on all my laminate floors. It did good, bringing out the shine but not making them slick.
As I ran out of energy my walking video got omitted today especially with my yucky non sleep stupor that is hanging on this afternoon.
I finally gave into a nap but to my surprise couldn't go to sleep.
Rebekah brought her two sisters who are visiting for Evy's first birthday  over and I met them.
She reminded me to get out g-son's old ball pit from he was small for the babies to play in at the party tomorrow.
When hubbie got in from work he brought the ladder in and crawled up in the storage space in the sunroom and got that down along with several other forgotten items that will come in handy.
All the balls that go with the pit were not there so when g-son got here this evening to spend the night I had to ask him what happened the them.
He is spending the night so his mom and dad can go have a nice dinner and night out with daughter for her birthday.
When I asked him about the balls he immediately ran to the big toy chest in his room so I thought he would come back with a big bunch of the balls, instead he brought out about six balls. He thought he had found all I was looking for and when I asked if he knew where there were any more he said well he was playing with some in the barn.  Hmmm !!!  a trip to Walmart got penciled into my evening plans !!!
After chores and supper we headed out to Walmart, of course g-son was glad because that is one of his favorite places especially since we were going to the toy isle !!!
He also likes the chicken nugget happy meals from the Mcdonalds in the store.
We found our bag of balls and got our nuggets and were home to enjoy the rest of the evening.
 When g-son was searching under his bed for the balls he found his etch-a-sketch which was the evenings entertainment for him. He would draw things and his Pawpaw tried to identify them. He had a blast !!
I iced cakes and wrapped all the pound cakes while hubbie helped wash all the eggs. I am now getting about 8 dozen eggs each week to sell over what we use so my girls are earning their feed now.
Got the balls in the pit and now we just have to keep g-son out of it as he says he is going to sleep in it tonight !!!

My dose of Nyquil tonight will assure that another restless night won' t happen,plus I don't have to get up at 7am tomorrow morning.
Grateful to God for the blessings of this day and for the sleeping g-son beside me in my bed tonight.
Good Night and God Bless.

LAST "FREE" THURSDAY OF THIS YEAR !

For some unknown and unspoken reason g-son was really apprehensive about going to school this morning. He didn't eat much breakfast and was close to tears on the way there complaining of a bad stomach ache.  I started talking to him about what fun things we could do on his spring break in a couple weeks and he acted like he forgot all about his stomach ache.
It's funny how some mornings he is excited about going to school when others are like today. I've a feeling it has to do with what is going on that day in class but he isn't about to tell us what is going on.
After chores and breakfast I headed into town. This is my last "free" Thursday as market will be open next Thursday.
I went to the bank and the PO, then to Aldi and Walmart to pick up baking supplies and groceries.
I can't believe how much grocery prices have increased just in the last couple months.

My scratchy throat is slowing me down this morning. I bought some more Air Borne to hopefully fight off another bout with a cold.  Our downstairs wood stove was smoking badly last night each time hubbie opened it to add wood so I'm thinking that is probably what's wrong with my throat.
I got home and got things put away before a late lunch. I took a walk outside today as the sunshine and 55 degree temperature looked to good to pass up.
I bet these guys are glad for some thawing out temps as they have worked all week in the snow and wind to get this part of the bridge done.

These wood hyacinths are finally braving the cold and pushing up their blooms.

Also my planted hyacinths are blooming.

This Almond bush is about to burst into bloom a little later than normal.

I've a feeling these lovely white clouds of blooms will soon be turning brown and falling off as I don't see any way these plum trees survived the low 20's temperatures of the last couple nights.

I picked up g-son today as other g-ma is out of town today. He was fine this afternoon with no signs of the apprehension of this morning.
After his dad picked him up hubbie and I watched the news then did the evening chores. The light bulb in the chick box was out this afternoon, so glad it waited until this day when the weather warmed to go out.  It is now replaced with a new bulb which should last the rest of the season.
The ten chicks that are now almost two weeks old surely would not all fit under their little Silkie mama to stay warm. I have three more setters, two that just started last week I left in the regular hen house so that all the warm hens would help keep the eggs warm on these cold nights.
As the sun went down this evening I stood outside enjoying the warmer but still not really comfortable weather . Rain is moving in tonight and hanging around for a couple days,probably spoiling my Saturday market day.
God id so good and I am so thankful that He loves and cares for me each day.
Good Night and God Bless.

SCHOOL DELAY AND HAPPY 29th TO DAUGHTER

An early text message let me know that schools would be on a 2 hour delay. I went back to sleep knowing #1 son would be going to  work early since he has to go in at 6am on icy road days with the DOT and d-in-love always waits until later and she gets the all clear word about the roads between here and Asheville where she works.
She brought g-son at 9:00.  He was happy to go to school 2 hours late because he got to watch some favorite TV shows this morning.
The roads were clear except for the bridges and shady spots as I took him to school at 10:00.
There was still plenty of snow around with the temperature still in the upper 20's when I got home.

I was happy to stay inside this morning and get some housework done. I got hung up on changing my living room curtains. I bought these valences in a clearance sale at Lowe's after Christmas and they looked good with my March decor but the purple decor for April, not so much.

I went through all my curtain choices and tried out a couple with no success so tomorrow when I'm in town I will look for something that will be a lot less "busy" .
#1 son got off work early after going in so early so he picked up g-son this afternoon. 
My had internet problems again today when I tried to get my walking video on. After a call to AT&T they told me how to get it up and going again. They said it just needed to be refreshed periodically.
After my walking video I rested while hubbie and I watched the news.
After chores and supper we watched Survivor on TV then I did weekly paperwork and payed bills for the week.
Talked to my "BIRTHDAY GIRL" this evening. 

Daughter is 29 years old today,wow, where did the years go ????   I thank the Lord for the wonderful young lady daughter has grown into. She is a wonderful daughter, sister, and especially AUNT , and also a caring high school teacher and coach as well as a shining example of a Christian young lady.
Hubbie and I are very proud of you and we wish you many, many more happy birthdays and wish that all your dreams come true.
Thanking God tonight for the blessing of three wonderful children and all the memories that went along with them.
Good Night and God Bless.

SNOWY SPRING DAY

When the alarm sounded this morning I actually moaned. I knew better than to take that 30 minute nap yesterday evening,but ohhh it felt so nice !!  However it wasn't a nice feeling to lay staring at the ceiling until well after 3am this morning before sleep finally came.  I had no pain, no breathing problems or anything other than that darn nap that I knew I shouldn't have taken, oh well.
After getting g-son delivered to school the thought did cross my mind to go back to bed but then I thought that might start a vicious circle of daytime instead of nighttime sleep so I resisted.
I spent a cold morning doing laundry and housework. The bridge workers were laying the foundation for the bridge in this nasty cold intermittent rain drizzle / snow flurrying weather.

This was not a good day to be traveling on this road as it was reduced to one lane for most of the day   !!

I did my walking video even though I felt really tired and was glad I did because it actually made me feel energized.
As I came home after picking up g-son we drove in a blizzard of blowing snow. He thought it was so cool !
He had his mac and cheese, Texas toast and cookies with chocolate milk before his dad came to pick him up to go food shopping with him to pick out somethings he would like to eat for lunch.
I did the chores battling the snow blizzard with a renewed longing for those elusive warm sunny days of spring.
There was practically a white out this evening for most of the time.

This is this same view earlier today.

Just before sunset the sun found a crack in the thick clouds for the first time today. The temperature has stayed in the upper 30's all day and is steadily dropping this evening leaving a nice dusting of snow on everything.

Unfortunately for travelers the road is now wet and a 20 degree temp or below is expected tonight.

It is already down to 27 at 10:00,we have fires in both our woodstoves tonight for the first time probably ever at the end of March !!
Farmers with strawberries and peaches in S.C. and Georgia were struggling this evening to get them protected from the hard freeze temperatures coming tonight. I guess our plum trees won't be baring any fruit again this year !!

 Thanks to our cooler than normal temps my plums trees are the only thing far enough along to get damaged by these temperatures.
I want to end today's post  saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY to a special young lady who has become such a sweet part of lives along with her little family. HAPPY BIRTHDAY REBEKAH !!!!

 God knows what He is doing and I am confident in His love for all who love Him and for all of His creations.
Good Night and God Bless.

BIRTHDAY MEMORIES FROM 1984

Up early this morning as g-son arrived at 7am. Hubbie took him to school while I waited on little Evy to get here. Her mom worked last night and needed to sleep this morning.
She is always a joy to keep and we had fun this morning although she didn't act like she felt supper good and we chased her runny nose all morning. Her mom came after her shortly after lunch.
Hubbie spent the day working on odd jobs outside. We were going to plant our potatoes but with the weather turning very cold and snow on the way we decided to wait.
After I did my walking video I went after g-son at school.  He said he had a good day for a Monday, I told him I knew that Monday feeling.
After he ate, he and Pawpaw went outside to play hide and seek. I stayed inside and drank some hot tea. I think it is cold out there with the 50 degree temps and wind blowing.
After #1 son picked up g-son I did bundle up and go out to do the evening chores.
I ate supper and spent most of the evening snuggled with my 4-legged kids, seems I just can't get warm this evening.
I have neglected my decade pics this month so tonight with this short post I will do the 1984 March photos of #2 son's first birthday !!
Both boys were in Biltmore Baptist Church daycare at that time and I baked him a birthday cake to share with his class.
He was not one for parties so smiles in pictures were hard to come by.

 Finally smiles !!!  That's #1 son standing on the left in the pic with the red pants.
We had a party at home with his brother and his cousins Holly and Aaron.

 Good memories, I can't believe this little boy just turned 31 years old  !!!!

Grateful to God tonight for wonderful memories of a very blessed life.
Good Night and God Bless.