By the time I got out on my walk the sun had risen and the fleeting clouds had turned white.
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.
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.
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 !!!!
2 comments:
Happy New Year to you and your family. I am like you as I don't make resolutions. But this year I am going to try and be a better person and try to be more thankful for what God has given me and blessed me with. I love your pledge to God and hopefully I can do the same. May God bless you in this new year.
2014 passed by really quickly and I'm sure you had a pretty nice one. It is already a blessing to be alive. We should forever be thankful for God protected us and made us safe. I also hope to walk closer to God during 2015 and learn to be like Him. Although I can never be perfect, I just want to be a little closer. Being kind and nice is the only way to bring positive feelings to me.
Glad to know your New Year's resolution is similar to mine!
Happy New Year and may God bless you and your family!
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