SNOWY DAY ENDS JANUARY

Woke this morning to a regular morning of all the grandkids here. Hubbie took g-son to school and I got chores done and took RL to pre-school.
While dropping her off it started to snow lightly but the temperature when I got home was 38 degrees.
I had breakfast with IR and CA and I heard IR saying "look look" and when I went to see what she was yelling about I saw these huge snowflakes pouring down.

I didn't think anything of it since nothing much was sticking to the ground but the thermometer now said 36 degrees.

As we watched the temperature drop and the ground quickly turn white the news came that schools were closing at 11:00am.

#1 son called and said not to get out on the roads that some of them were getting pretty slushie and slick.

He said he would go pick up RL since he was leaving work .

Daughter called and said she would bring G-son home because the car rider lines at the schools were crazy long .

By this time the ground was completely covered and it was still coming down heavy.

Daughter made it in with g-son and #1 son picked him up and went home because RL had went to sleep on the drive home.

Snow flowers started to bloom on all the Azalea bushes.

We had 2 inches of snow and the temperature now was starting to rise.

Unfortunately this school bus accident happened just up the road from us.

Daughter went home and her and son-in-love got the girls out in the snow. This is CA's first experience with snow.

IR loved it until her little hands got really wet and cold.

G-daughter RL got outside and played with her new dog in the snow this afternoon.

EL and BB got outside to enjoy it also.

The sheep that we tried to catch last week is still hanging around with Aa's cattle and looks like he has found a new home since no one has come looking for him.

The temperature got up to 35 and the snow fall tapered off about mid afternoon and some of it started to melt.

We almost always have some snowfall in January and just the other day I commented on how it was going to be really odd for this year's January not to have any snowfall. Mother Nature must have heard me and got her snow maker nudged into working and just in time to end this month with a decent snowfall !

Saying good bye to January is always easy as it tends to be a cold nasty month. However this year it hasn't been very cold but we have had a lot of rain and now the snow so we can still hopefully mark off the worse month of winter weather.

This month saw #2 house work continue and hopefully get finished by the end of next month.

IR started going to pre-school 2 days a week and is slowly adjusting.

BB turned 5 years old on the 15th.

My Daffodils bloomed for the first time in recent memory in January and a neighbor even saw a slow moving black snake out and about last week in the abnormally warm weather.

The month has been warm but we have had a lot of rain to deal with.

IR and CA both dealt with ear infections this month and all 3 girls continue to have runny noses and coughs.

G-son finished his 7th grade year of wrestling and his team was undefeated.

We held the annual stockholders meeting at the Curb Market and I was elected treasurer for another year.

It has been a good blessed start to the new year and a new decade for the entire family and we are very thankful for all the blessings from a wonderful God.

God Bless and Good Night

SCHOOL DAY MARKET DAY

All the grandkids arrived early this morning. Hubbie took g-son to school, I got morning chores done and then we got loaded for market. I took RL and IR with me to pre-school. This is Thursday so IR gets to go to school today and she has been looking forward to it.
They were sassy going into school with their backpacks on and marching along the white lines.

IR was fine until she got to her classroom door and then the tears started but Ms. Kenna scooped her up and started talking to her.
I dropped RL and left to meet hubbie and CA at market.
Before I set up my table this morning since there was no customers yet at market I took all my winter decorations down and set out the Valentine décor.

Sales were really slow this morning as I got my end of the month treasurer payroll duties done and made the call to Duke Energy.
I got a really rude young man to talk to who treated me as if I paid my bill late every mont.
He said my checks were probably there but were placed in a large bin with all the other payments that had something wrong with them. He couldn't tell me anything that might cause your payment to go into this bin but said after 30 days they would all be shredded. I asked how I could go about getting someone to search for my payment so that I could know why it got put into the bin and he
didn't answer me. The only thing he kept saying to me was if I set up automatic draft I wouldn't have to worry about this happening anymore ????  I came away from this conversation wondering if this is a strong arm way for Duke Energy to get everyone to do the automatic draft. The things this man said to me just did not make sense. I am going to call again tomorrow and hopefully talk to someone else to see if I get the same run around.
I picked up a happy IR from pre-school today and she was happily talking all about her day. Kenna said this was her best day so far . Hopefully she is getting into the flow of things.
We stopped by McDonalds and got her a cheeseburger and fries and me a salad as I just realized all I had eaten all day was a banana I grabbed on my way out the door this morning.
She was happy to tell all her friends at market about her good school day and ate her lunch happily. CA had went to the dump / recycle center with hubbie about 10:00 this morning and went to sleep on the way and she was still sleeping when we came back to market but woke up shortly and had her lunch. She is getting better of not swallowing and is eating better today so maybe the medicine is working on her ears.
We all got ready at the end of market day and loaded up.  The day ended up not being too bad afterall with a couple good sales.
Hubbie took CA home and IR wanted to go with me to the bank, PO and Ingles.
She got to ride in the little car cart at Ingles and got a sucker for being so good as I shopped for a couple things we needed from there.
We came home just in time for me to stay with the girls while hubbie picked g-son up from school.
He dropped him off at home so he could help get their basset hound to an adoption shelter to meet with another dog to see if he got along with her.
Looks like they hit it off and d-in-love adopted this little black and white dog to give Abe the basset some company.

Daughter came after her girls and IR was outside riding this little tractor around.

She loves riding this "green one" as g-son used to call it when he was her size but she is having to learn to steer it.
After daughter left hubbie and I got chores done and then we cooked these delicious smoked pork chops we had bought on our trip to Hickory Nut Gap farms last month.
I seared them in the cast iron skillet on the stove them put them in the oven to bake for about 30 minutes. Hubbie gathered some fresh greens from our winter garden to go in the instant pot and he also fried some potatoes to go along with them.

We had a delicious supper and healthy supper. I love getting meat from this place since I know it isn't loaded down with preservatives and junk.
The chops were so large and think hubbie or I couldn't eat all of them so we saved some for lunch tomorrow.
We spent the evening relaxing.
Thankful for the blessings of this day.
God Bless and Good Night

BAKING DAY

Back on regular schedule this morning. G-son and RL arrived and had breakfast before hubbie took g-son to middle school. I got chores done when he got back.  There was a beautiful sunrise this morning.

IR and CA 's other g-ma is coming up to stay with them today so hubbie rode along with me to take RL to pre-school.
After we dropped her off we made our weekly Aldi stop for baking supplies and then to Ingles.
We came home so I could get my baking started and hubbie could get some outside task done .
I baked 6 caramel, 2 pound cakes and 2 chocolate cakes and a pan of brownies.
I did a load of laundry and hung it out on the clothes line to dry since my washer wouldn't spin the heavy mattress cover I was washing.
I did evening chores and then got the weekly paperwork done and paid bills. I noticed on my bank statement that the duke energy checks for the house and shed hadn't been cashed and I mailed them on the 2nd of January. I opened the new bill they had just sent and of course it was doubled and a threatening note that if the past due balance wasn't immediately paid my power would be cut off. I have never had any trouble like this before. I know I mailed the bills with a couple other bills and the other bills were posted on the bank statement.
I called #2 son the mailman and asked him if there was anyway to find the letter and of course he said no there wasn't but he told me this seems to happen a lot with duke energy for some reason. Folks call all the time about their power bills not being delivered and he said even he had had this happen to him. He said Duke energy found his check eventually and posted it to his account after he had already re-payed the lost bill. He told me to call tomorrow and ask them to refund the late charges.
I spent the rest of the evening icing cakes and getting things ready for market.
There is a slight chance of some more black ice on the roads in the morning so we'll wait and see what happens.
Thankful for the blessings of this day.
God Bless and Good Night

BLACK ICE DELAYS SCHOOL

Got a 5:45 text from d-in-love that school was on a 2-hour delay this morning . I didn't want to wake up entirely and get out of bed so I just went back to sleep.
When I did wake up  a little later I heard the police scanner in the bedroom alive with accidents .
Hubbie was already up and said we didn't have any ice that he cold see and our temperature here was 35 degrees.
A little later they changed the 2 hour delay to a 3 hour delay and closed the girl's pre-school completely.
I got chores done and had a leisurely breakfast. D-in-love brought g-son and RL about 9:30.
Hubbie took g-son to school at 10:30 while RL and I colored.
She was sad she didn't get to go to school.
When hubbie got back we did some cleaning up. RL helped hubbie clean in the playroom and pick the toys all up in the living room while I changed out my decorations from snowmen to valentines.
I vacuumed the furniture and got out clean covers for hubbie's recliner and both couch seats.
RL was a good help for a little while till she got bored with cleaning.
Daughter brought IR and CA in at lunch time. She had taken the day off work to stay with CA since she was so sick with her ear infections. She needed to run an errand in Asheville so she left the girls here.
They all three played and CA acts so much better today just after a couple doses of the medicine they gave her.

 Daughter came back from her errand and stayed until it was time for her gate duty at he basketball game this evening.
Hubbie and I took turns getting chores done this evening and watching the girls as d-in-love went to g-son conference wrestling match. His team won and remains the only undefeated team to end a great season. It was a 4 team match so it lasted until 8:00 tonight.

The girls were content to play and it looks like there is some serious construction going on here.

This sweet little girls is 8 months old today. She has 2 teeth already with at least 3 more coming in, she is saying mama regularly and just smiles all the time.

#1 son picked up RL and daughter made it back early to get IR and CA.  Son said the roads were really bad when he went to work this morning.

 IR crashed as soon as she got home after the fun day she had playing with RL.

Hubbie and I relaxed for a much needed restful evening .

Thankful for the blessings of this day.

God Bless and Good Night

SICK DAY FOR LITTLE CA

Monday morning again ????    Seems these weeks are just flying by right now.
All the kids were here to start this week. Hubbie  took g-son to school then I did chores and took RL to her pre-school. IR asked to ride along with us this morning so I let her and she surprised me by wanting to stay at school today in her class. She talked to Ms Kenna her teacher and told her she would see her tomorrow. This was a big change from last week when she didn't even want to go into the school.
IR and I came home to find CA refusing to take all of her morning bottle which is very surprising as usually she is a very good eater.
Daughter is taking her to the doctor this afternoon to find out what is going on with her.
She is still smiling through her misery though.

I did weekly laundry all morning between playing with IR while hubbie struggled with CA.
IR and I went to pick up RL and came straight back home to have lunch. CA only slept about 30 minutes while we were gone.
RL and IR wanted mac and cheese for lunch and they ate good but poor little CA refused her cereal and banana lunch that she usually loves.
After we all ate these two sat quietly and watched TV for a little while.

They don't stay sitting very long and were soon up in the playroom playing house with their baby dolls. It is so interesting to listen to them setting up this little game they play with plans to go to the grocery store and taking some of the kids to school and all the other places they need to go.
Daughter picked up CA right after school and she has a double ear infection.
Bless her heart she isn't swallowing because it makes her ear hurt so she is just drooling. She isn't eating either for the same reason so daughter is going to stay with her tomorrow to try and get her to nurse more to keep her from getting dehydrated.
IR went to sleep when hubbie went out to get his chores done and slept until her dad picked her up on his way home from work.
I got my chores done and then we had some ham salad for supper from the left over ham which was very good.
We watched UNC / NC State basketball game which UNC won. It was a good game and was close until near the end.
Tonight feels more like a Friday night as we are so tired but I think it was the constant holding of CA today to keep her from screaming. She usually likes to bounce around in her bouncy saucer and walker.
Thankful for the blessings of this day and praying for little CA that she feels better quickly.
God Bless and Good Night

NICE SUNDAY AND DECADE PICS FOR 1970 and 1990 for JANUARY

A slow Sunday morning  getting some things ready for lunch. I got chores done then put a ham in the oven and some baby carrots in the instant pot. Hubbie peeled potatoes and out them on the boil while I deviled some eggs we boiled last night.
We left the oven on and the instant pot went to the keep warm cycle , we turned off the potatoes and put a lid on them and headed for church.
We came home to lunch with #1 son's family, daughter's family and Aa and his kids. Re worked last night so she was home sleeping.
We fixed corn , green beans and biscuits to go with the ham, carrots and potatoes for a delicious lunch.
CA is not feeling well at all and is really needing to sleep as for the last couple nights each time she lays down she crys. Don't know if its her teeth coming through or and ear infection.
After everyone went home hubbie ran to Ingles for some waffles for the kids in the morning and I got my laundry put away and my clothes laid out for the week.
I also went through old pics for the decade pics to start this year off.
After evening chores hubbie and I both relaxed for the evening.
The decade pics in January are always sparse and today I only found a couple years with anything in January xx00's.
First this is a basketball article in the paper of a game from my 10th grade year in high school in January 1970.

And this is a pic of me in that month and year. My aunt Gertie Mae, my mom's sister would always take me shopping around Christmas time in those days and let me pick out several outfits that she could buy for me. She had 2 boys and I was like her only chance at outfitting a girl. This is one of the outfits I she bought for me.

And this is from 20 years later in January of 1990 #2 son was selected to be a terrific kid in his classroom.

Thankful for the blessings of this day.

God Bless and Good Night

ANNUAL STOCKHOLDERS MEETING SATURDAY

Saturday market day morning was a clear sunny cool morning in the upper 20's.  We got chores done and headed to market.  Business was slow today but we had an okay day for this time of year. Daughter's family came by for a little while . CA didn't sleep hardly any last night so they were all going home to spend a quiet day resting.
Hubbie left market and went to Sams Club and Ingles for things for lunch tomorrow and then he came back to market. Today is our annual stock holders meeting and he came back to help set chairs up and be counted as an attendee because there isn't many members here for the meeting and we have at least 1/3 of the members in attendance to qualify for a meeting.
Thankfully we had enough members finally show up and the were able to conduct our regular meeting.  I was voted back on the market board and will continue as treasurer for another year. Only one new board member was voted on this year. The man that got voted off was one of our oldest market members and he agreed to be an advisor anytime we need him.
We had our first regular board meeting after the stockholders all left and I was almost dark getting home. I just had enough time to get unloaded and gather eggs and shut up the chicken houses.
It is already 37 degrees at 6pm after a cool 44 degree high temp today.
We relaxed for the evening to end a busy week.
Ran across this interesting weather news tonight. Our unseasonably warm winter weather may set records for low snow fall totals even for the tallest mountain in the area. The black line at the bottom is this year's totals which are at record lows so far this winter.

Thankful for the blessings of this day.
God Bless and Good Night

VERY RAINY FRIDAY

Another soaking rainy morning to get the grandkids in and out in and get the chores done.
The rain was pouring while I drove RL to pre-school and we actually had to turn around when we got not to far out the road and return home for her forgotten backpack. She carries a snack each day in it so we had to come back to get it. We made it to school just before they locked the doors.
I came home just in time to say good bye to IR who daughter was picking up to go to the doctor.
Poor thing doesn't feel good at all again this morning and was really looking forward to going to the doctor.
She layed down on this little couch in the waiting room to wait her turn. Bless her little heart she felt so bad.

Thankfully she only has an ear infection for sure and maybe strep throat . Since they were giving her antibiotics anyway the doctor said it wasn't worth fighting her to swab her throat. She may also have a virus that is causing the coughing spells.
She came back here and daughter gave her the first dose of medicine.
Daughter went back to school and IR seemed to feel batter already.
I drove through more pouring rain on the way back to get RL.
We all had lunch when we got back and then the girls played the afternoon away. This little doll house was truly worth the clearance price of $10.

Little CA is such a happy baby....

After d-in-love and daughter picked up the kids hubbie and I went over to help Re try and catch the wayward sheep that is still in their pasture. Both of us have had calls from concerned passerbys noticing the sheep out in the rain on the rising creek bank.

We set up a catch fence and tried to lure him in with a bucket of feed to no avail. After we gave up and took Re home the sheep followed us up to her yard. We tried again to get him to go in with her goats but he wouldn't go the way we needed him to go. At least he is in her yard and off the road and creek bank.

I know now why sheep farmers have dogs trained to herd their sheep !!!!

It got really pea soup foggy while we were over there and when we came home you could hardly see 20 feet in front of you. There was 2.3 inches of rain in the gauge tonight  from the days rainfall.

I got things ready for market tonight and rested.

Thankful for the blessings of this day.

God Bless and Good Night