GOOD BYE JANUARY 2017

Back to the early morning wake-up with the arrival of g-daughter. We went back to bed and surprisingly she went right to sleep and slept until 8:40. D-in-love said she didn't sleep well last night so maybe she was making up for it.
I got her in her high chair with her breakfast and then headed out to do the chores a little late but the animals are pretty forgiving !!
Back inside I had breakfast and then g-daughter and I headed into the living room to play. She played for just a few minutes and then wanted to lay in my lap which is strange when she feels good. Her nose was running and she had a nasty cough going on. She got up and down several times to get things and to hug "Bernie dog" as she calls him.

As she became more and more lethargic I noticed she felt really warm so I put a thermometer under her arm for a few minutes and it read 99.

I called d-in-love to ask where the Tylenol was so I could give her some but d-in-love wanted to come home and retake her temp and then if she had a fever she wanted to call the doctor for the Tamiflu drug since she figured she had what she had last weekend.   Booooo, I hope not because she has been in my face all morning so that means I will get a case of the flu also.
She had a fever of 100 when d-in-love took it so she called the doctor and they headed home to wait for a return call.
I took a walk out in the 64 degree sunshine of this last day of January. My Jonquils are blooming !

I came inside and cleaned house and got out some Valentine decor for February plus changed out all the bed and furniture covers.
I picked up g-son from school today and got reminded of my previous pick up days as I sat in the long car rider line.

I dropped him off at his house to his disappointment as he was looking forward to having an after school snack here like old times but his mom had other ideas.
I came home and continued my cleaning and did a load of laundry.  When hubbie came in from work we watched the first news and then did the evening chores.
As this first month of 2017 ends it has been a strange one with lots of up and down temperatures , some snow and flooding amid mostly sunny days.
This is the highs for the month which turned out to be 5.8 degrees above normal.

And the average low temperature for this month was a whooping 8.6 degrees above normal.

A look back at this month had some winter weather mixed in as after starting the month out on New Years day with our traditional meal for health,wealth and luck we felt like winter as a front moved in bringing 8 inches of powdery snow on the 6th on the month. With cold temps hanging on we had several days of nice sledding fun and ate our share of snow cream !!

Then the warmth returned .
G-son started his recreation league basketball games on Saturdays I was able to go to a couple that were in the afternoon on Saturdays.

BB turned 2 years old in Ohio as his family await the custody trial of his 2 first cousins. Aa stays here and works and travels back up there every 2 or 3 weeks for the weekend.
Our associate pastor of the past 8 years was nominated to fill our senior pastor position and preached his trial sermon on the 29th and we voted right after. The decision is still unknown as the month ends.
Donald Trump was inaugurated as our 45th president on the 20th of this month.
We had a flood on the 23rd after a couple rainy days and an overnight rain that dropped 3 inches of rain in less than 2 hours with thunder and lightening.

We saw our new grand-daughter's ultra sound picture again this month and she looks like a very healthy little girl and daughter has started to feel her movements.

Curb market was okay for the month of January and the Thursday opening has been really up and down for me.

We ended the month with a dusting of snow on the 30th that caused a school delay.

 And also the month ended with d-in-love and g-daughter both fighting cases of the flu.
I am very thankful for my health and happiness throughout this first month of the year and I pray that it be in God's will to walk by my side for many more blessed months .
Good bye January, hello February !!!!
God Bless and Good Night

SNOW DUSTING DELAYS SCHOOL

An early morning text let me know that schools had a 2 hour delay this morning. Since d-in-love is still feeling sick hubbie was supposed to take g-son to school this morning. This delay came as no surprise to me as last night when I took the dogs out for their potty break before bedtime the snow was pouring down and it looked like we probably had at least 1/2 inch on the ground with a mid 20's temp.
Hubbie and I got up on our regular 8am alarm schedule and got chores done in the windy frigid temps of the morning. The sun was shining so some of the snow had already melted but what was left was pretty.

Hubbie took g-son to school and walked him in at 10:00. He said he wished school started late everyday !!
After breakfast I got weekly laundry started and then Bernie and Dolly got long over due haircuts. Out came their sweaters to replace all that long hair on this cold day.

They both actually act like they like the warmth of these sweaters !!
I did three loads of laundry while keeping the downstairs wood stove stoked all day. I rearranged some of the storage shelves downstairs while hubbie was outside working on the fire wood piles.
He shifts the wood continually around so that we are burning the oldest driest wood first.
About 3:00 I got so sleepy but I have no idea why. I sat down to have a hot cup of green tea and almost dropped the cup when I dozed off ???
Maybe its the warmth of the wood fire but I had to keep moving to avoid an afternoon nap today.
After chores we had supper of yesterday's left overs with Aa who drove through the snow to get home last night and thankfully made it safely home around 11pm.
Early to bed for me tonight to try and catch up on the sleep that I felt like I needed this afternoon.
Thankful for the blessings of this day.
God Bless and Good Night.

SNOWY SUNDAY EVENING

A cloudy quiet Sunday morning greeted us today. The outside air is laden with moisture and the stillness feels like snow is coming.
After chores I cooked macaroni noodles and put my mac and cheese and ham casserole in the crock pot today instead of trying to bake it in the oven and keep it warm until we get home from church.
Today is the day the Associate Pastor Craig gives his trial sermon and we vote yes or no to give him the senior pastorship in our church so I have no idea how long church will run today.
Hubbie and I arrived early to an already almost full parking lot. Josh and daughter came to our church today along with #1 son's family. D-in-love is still not feeling up to par so she played her violin for a couple songs then took g-daughter home to get naps.
The sermon Craig gave was very inspirational and there was a good response  then he and his family left church while we conducted the business of voting. We will not know what the outcome is for a while as if he was voted in with 75% of the vote he will then be given ample time to decide for sure that is where God wants him to be. Then the congregation will be notified. If he doesn't get the 75% vote there was no plans for when we would be notified. I certainly hope this young man gets the vote of affirmation from the congregation. As I looked around today there were several church members who don't attend church regularly there to vote so maybe that was a good sign and they will start attending if Craig is voted in.
After the service we had lunch with Josh and daughter and #1 son and g-son here.
When everyone left hubbie and I went out to put out hay to the cattle and horse . Aa is coming back from Ohio today from spending yesterday up there for an interview from the guardian ad litem that is handling his nieces custody case so we have been taking care of all his animals.
I pray that he makes it home safely tonight with all the snow that is falling between there and here.
This is the prediction map from our area.

You can see the leading edge of the snowy front this afternoon as it moves in from the north.We typically don't get much accumulation with systems coming in from this direction but who knows.

Hubbie and I came inside out of the cold and I snuggled with the 4-legged kids for awhile not feeling very good but not able to put my finger on exactly why. Taking the Air Borne and praying I don't catch any of the sickness that is going around right now.
Tonight things are quickly getting a white coating of snow .

As I surfed around the net tonight I saw this and thought about how true this is and I hope all the news media who are so against him and all the protestors that are still crazily getting on TV with the presidents every move from the biased news media might read this and realize the truth in it.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am thankful that I know that God is ultimately in control and I can rest in the peace that His will will be done !
Thankful for a blessed Sunday .
God Bless and Good Night

ANNUAL MARKET STOCKHOLDERS MEETING

Brrrrrrr,  this morning it is mid 20's and the ice is alot thicker on the water buckets this morning as I do the chores.
Hubbie and I made it to market on time but no one was there to notice. It was a slow sales day today but I am thankful for the things I did sell. Total sales was a little more than 1/3rd of what I made last Saturday. I will never be able to figure out why some days are so good and some days are so slow.
I had several friends come by for visits today so I enjoyed the day.
We had our annual stockholders meeting after market closed today. It was a longer meeting than usual but a very good one and some changes should be coming soon from the discussions.
I was nominated for a board position but the same board members that served last year were re-elected which is okay by me.
I made a stop at Ingles for tomorrow's lunch supplies and made it home about 4:45.
In other news of the day g-son had an early morning , 9am basketball game. Daughter went and sent me a picture of g-son scoring a basket from a rebound he grabbed.

After the ball game which g-son's team lost by a huge margin to a very good team daughter took him to Asheville to have some fun for the day.
They went to the US Cellular center to the dinosaur exhibit.

He had his face painted first thing.

Played dinosaur mini golf.

And panned for dinosaur bones and other prehistoric finds !!!

They had a wonderful day together. That's what Aunts are for !!!!

Hubbie and I did chores this evening in the quickly cooling air. There is a winter storm advisory for the counties north of our area but the local DOT must have a different forecast because the roads were white with brine as I drove home today.

As I sit by the window typing this I can hear the wind howling outside and the temperature at 11:00 is 38 degrees with a perfect snowing temperature of 28 for a low predicted for tonight.
Hubbie and I have spent a restful Saturday night in the recliner and on the couch , he cut firewood all day and I am feeling kind of puny so that was a perfect way to spend this evening.
Thankful for the blessings of this day and looking forward to worshiping God with my church family tomorrow.
God Bless and Good Night

BAKING AND BABYSITTING FRIDAY

A reminder of winter this morning as the upper 20's temps felt really cold after all our nice warm temps of the last couple weeks.
I got all the chores done then had a big breakfast before braving the cold winds to have a morning walk.
The sky is pretty this morning with all the fleeting clouds with the cold front that is moving in.

After my walk I worked on cleaning in my office while I waited to see if any cake orders would come in before I started baking.
By lunch time there were no orders so I baked 6 caramel, 2 chocolate, 3 pound cakes and a pan of brownies.
I did a little more work in my office cleaning project then had a cup of hot tea while I watched the first news .
Just as we were heading out to do chores #1 son called asking if the kids could come up here to stay while he took d-in-love to the doctor. She had came home from work early today and was feeling really bad.
Hubbie and I hurried through chores and then watched these two for the evening.

I left hubbie with them and iced my cakes and got things all ready for market tomorrow.
When son got back he said they thought d-in-love had the flu even though the flu test they gave her came out negative as she had all the flu symptoms. She had a flu shot so hopefully she will get over it quickly.
After the kids left hubbie and I cleaned the kitchen and then rested until bedtime.
It is going to be a cold night as the temperature at 10:30 is already down to 30 degrees.
That old saying about snow within 7-10 days from thunder may be coming true this weekend if this forecast holds true for Sunday.

I'm tired tonight and headed for an early bedtime.
Thankful to God for a blessing filled day and thanking Him each day for my health.
God Bless and Good Night.

SCHOOL VOUNTEER NIGHT

Up and off to meet another unseasonably warm day.
I was slow to get going this morning and felt like I needed a good breakfast not something on the run today so I sat down and had eggs and coffee before leaving for market.
I stopped by the Post Office on the way since I figured there would be no need to hurry. I got a call from a customer on the way that wanted the only caramel cake I had made so at least I will double last Thursdays total with one cake !!
Market was totally void of customers when I got there and stayed that way except for a very few lookers that wandered through.I did sell a lemon poppy seed bread of daughters and 3 lemon bars for me to fellow vendors.
I packed my things up and left just before noon. I ran the rest of my errands and picked up groceries and baking supplies at Aldi and Walmart. I also stopped by the Co-op and got a bottle of liquid vitamins to hopefully give me some energy as this time of year I always get that run down feeling.
I got home around 2:30 and unloaded then I started working on cleaning in my office. I ran across a couple bags of towel and pot holder sets that I had bought to make towel angels from. I didn't just want to move them to another location so I stopped cleaning and made towel angels until I ran out of washcloths. I made a total of   9 angels .

I haven't had any of these in a while because I couldn't find any towels on sale and the regular price of these sets has gone up so much I can't come out making them. I know these are some "on sale" sets from the price tags so at least I can get rid of some clutter out of my office and make some money too!
We did chores early tonight as I have another volunteer night at g-son's school for another family night.
I made hot chocolate from about 5:45 until 6:45 tonight for anyone who wanted a warm drink.
I also had nice visits with some old friends and teachers during the slow times.
This family night wasn't near as busy as the one in the fall maybe because the weather turned cold quickly tonight. It is already 36 degrees at 11:00 tonight with mid 20's expected overnight.
Hubbie kept g-daughter while #1 son took g-son to basketball practice and d-in-love left school and went to church to music practice.
G-daughter  was still here when I got home and got really sleepy and went to sleep before mom got here to pick her up.  Hopefully she will go back to sleep. She is cutting a couple teeth and isn't feeling well right now anyway.
Hubbie and I watched a UNC / Virginia Tech basketball game which UNC won pretty handily.
I feel like I am getting a sore throat tonight so I am headed to bed early to hopefully fight the bug off.
Thankful for the blessings of this day and for His never ending grace.
God Bless and Good Night

SUMMERY JANUARY DAY AND JANUARY 2007 MEMORIES

Feeling very thankful this morning for our unseasonably warm weather. When I got up today I started on my regular routine of letting the dogs all out. I didn't realize anything was wrong until I went into the sunroom to open the back door and noticed the Edenpure heater in there was off. I immediately sighed because I figured the heater had blown another $100 fuse !!
But as I went back into the kitchen I discovered I had no power.
I continued with chores thinking the power company might still be switching some things around from the massive outage of yesterday.
It wasn't until I started into the silkie lot that I saw the fried squirrel caught in the netting that covers the lot.
I came back inside and called in the outage to Duke Energy. I always talk to someone so I can let them know it is an easy fix with only a fuse to replace and they usually come pretty quickly to fix it.I  got a message that it would be fixed by 1:30 today but figured they would be earlier.
I went down to #1 son's house where d-in-love's mom was baby sitting g-daughter today and fixed me a cup of coffee and had a protein bar for breakfast while visiting with Deb.
We talked and lost track of time and by the time I headed back home it was almost noon.
I had a cold sandwich and water for lunch and then went outside to work in the 71 degree sunny afternoon. All the driveway ditches filled up with leaves and gravel in the hard rains earlier this week so I shoveled ditches all afternoon.
Finally at 1:30 I got another message that the power would be fixed by 2:30, uhhhhh !!!
Almost at the same time as this message came through I heard the big truck turn into the driveway.
They had the fuse replaced in no time and one of the workers was a good friend so we visited for a few minutes before they were on their way.
After checking everything in the frig and freezer and making sure things were back working I took a break on the porch.
This is the last day of this warm weather for a while so all the animals were spending it soaking in all the sunshine they could !!

I reluctantly gave up my outside rest time and did some housework . I had all these plans for things I wanted to get done today in the house and now I am behind but oh well things will get done !!
After chores I took a much needed break on the heating pad for an aching back from all my ditch clearing I'm sure.
Looks like more snow in January 2007 and also more fun with a 3 month old g-son !!

I did weekly paperwork tonight and paid bills then headed to an early bedtime.
Thankful for the love of God tonight and all the blessings of this day.
God Bless and Good Night

ULTRASOUND DAY

7am alarm this morning as g-daughter arrived and was ready to start the day. I fixed her breakfast and went to do the chores . I came in and got ready for our trip to see the ultrasound of daughter's baby girl this morning.
Daughter came here since she isn't going back to work until this afternoon. I didn't have time for any breakfast so I had a cup of Kieffer and drank the cup of hot chi tea daughter brought me from Starbucks on her way over.
D-in-love called and said the elementary school she works at didn't have any power. The high winds probably blew something down. There were about 6500 customers without power this morning.

#2 son's house is in this area so he didn't have power this morning, thankfully it wasn't cold today.
They eventually closed two elementary schools that were effected but d-in-love had to stay and see that all the kids already at school got home and that there was someone at home to care for them !
Daughter ,g-daughter and I left for Asheville about 8:45 for her 9:15 appointment. Josh and Josh's mom Connie met us there.
The baby is perfectly where it is supposed to be and all organs seemed to be working fine in the ultrasound.

G-daughter getting her first look at her first cousin  !!!!!

These images always amaze me with their detail.

And she gave us the "peace or victory" sign to say that things are fine in there !!!!

G-daughter and I stayed for the doctor's appointment . This doctor also delivered g-daughter so he was glad to see her doing so well .
As soon as we put g-daughter in her car seat after the appointment she went straight to sleep. Daughter and I went through a drive thru and ate lunch in the car while she slept.
We came home and she woke up when we parked in the yard.
She had her lunch then played for the afternoon while daughter went back to work.
She loves this car and gets in and waves and says bye !!!1

D-in-love picked her up after she ran an errand . I rested until hubbie got home then we did chores. The temperature today was nice in the upper 50's but the wind made it a little cool.
  Sadie the outside furbaby that I hit with my car before Christmas is almost back to her normal self except she still has some drainage from her nose. She was anxious to get inside the basement tonight to her warm crate.
Hubbie and I watched parts of some basketball games tonight and rested . We built a fire in the downstairs woodstove to fend off the mid 30's chill that is predicted for tonight.
Thankful tonight for the new little life that is joining our family. Another sweet , God -given miracle will come into this world in June and win all our hearts as g-son did 10 years ago and g-daughter did 16 months ago.  This has been a blessed day and I am very very thankful to God .
God Bless and Good Night.