GOOD BYE SEPTEMBER 2021

 Up to get chores done while hubbie is doing his school drop-offs. CA stayed with us this morning after they dropped off IR at pre-school.  I had breakfast with CA and then we loaded up in hubbie's truck and headed out to get our weekly errands done. First stop was the PO, then the dump/recycle center, we made a stop at the curb market to drop off a couple bunches of money plant to sell and then our last stop was the Co-op to pick up some bulk spices. Their selection was very limited and I only found some gourmet peppercorns I like. In wake of Covid all the bulk spices are already in bags which is much safer. They were just out of several things I needed like ceylon cinnamon and whole cloves.  Hopefully they will get more in the next couple weeks. I have noticed a lot of empty shelves in the few stores I have been in lately. They say there is a shortage of employees and delivery drivers. We came home and had lunch with daughter, IR and EA .  We sat outside in the nice 83 degree sunshine and soaked up some of the last warm days.  As we leave this month we are almost 9 inches above normal rainfall which is a good thing starting into a typical dry season.

This September has been an overall cooler month than normal by several degrees but these last few days have really been nice. Unfortunately October is going to come in with a few nice warm days but they will end next week and we will get back below normal at least in the foreseeable future.

September for our family has been a pretty normal good month. The 2 new members. NP and EA are growing and doing great. CA has been her usual mischievous self and is still fighting off a cold her older sister brought in from pre-school. She spends most of her days here with us as she has discovered it is nice to be the only child here with both of us.  IR surprised us all when she started to pre-school at the beginning of the month and loves pre-school this year so much that she begged to go all 5 days a week after starting out going only 3 days.  She is so much different than a couple years ago when she cried everyday and begged not to go.  RL also settled into kindergarten very quickly and loves it as well. She spends a lot of time with us after school catching up on all the attention she misses during the day. G-son seems to be settling into high school well, he had a scare at the beginning of the month when he was quarantined for 8 days due to sitting next to a student that has covid in band class. Thankfully he didn't get the virus and was able to get back to school. He is waiting to do his driving in drivers education so he can get his permit.  EL and BB have also settled into 1st and 3rd grades and seem to like their teachers and are doing well.

The rest of the family has been good and we are all thankful for the greatest protector of all who blesses us so much each and every day. 

As we begin another month tomorrow I am very very grateful for a loving Savior that continues to watch over all we do and gives us day after day filled with undeserved blessings and His endless love and forgiveness. 

God Bless and Good Night

SKY TOP VISIT

 First of all today let me apologize to everyone who follows my blog, I had no idea my post weren't publishing until today. I guess no post have shown up since Friday ????    They did all post tonight though.

This morning started out normally with hubbie doing his school delivery duties and me getting chores done. CA stayed here after daughter dropped hubbie off because EA has another doctor's appointment this morning to check her weight again. Thankfully she has gained 9 ounces which is an ounce a day which is what the doctor was wanting her to gain so she doesn't have to go back for another month.  After I ate breakfast I cleaned off a couple shelves in the kitchen and rearranged some canning supplies while hubbie and CA played outside.  

Daughter came here to get some work done while EA napped. We are meeting d-in-love-Tif after IR gets out of school and going to another apple orchard.  IR went on her first bus ride today for a field trip to an apple farm and she was so excited to tell us all about it when we picked her up.  Her field trip was to Stepp's Orchard.  We are going to an orchard today that I have never been to. It is called Sky Top and if you go there you would surely know why it was given that name. It is high on top of a mountain. We ate a quick lunch when we got there and then the girls had a lot of fun and we all bought some pretty pumpkins and gourds.

We left when the girls wore out and the babies got hungry.  Daughter came here to finish some of her school work while CA and EA napped.  After they all left hubbie and I watched the news where a new tropical storm was named today but once again thankfully this one will stay out to sea away from any land.

We got chores done and then I spent time in my office tonight getting bills paid and doing weekly paperwork.  

Thankful for the blessing of this day.

God Bless and Good Night

A TURKEY PARADE

 Up to hubbie strangely still here this morning. G-son has a dentist appointment this morning so d-in-love-A is taking him to school after the appointment so hubbie isn't taking him to school but he is still going with daughter to take IR to pre-school. I got chores done and was having breakfast when he got back from that. CA didn't stay with us because her other grandparents were coming to visit this morning. After we ate we loaded up all last months furniture covers and bed covers and headed out to the laundry. Today is a beautiful sunny warm day so it will be good to get these washed and hung out of the clothes line to dry.  We went to get gas and to check out another Amazon return place that opened up near the laundry. We didn't find anything there and picked up our laundry and came home to get it all hung out to dry.  Then we went to Aldi to pick up our curb side grocery order. We had to make a stop on the way home to allow this line of wild turkeys time to all get across the road.  I captioned this picture as  "tell me I live in the country without me telling you I live in the country".

We came home put the groceries away and then had lunch of left overs from Sunday.  Daughter was home with 2 sleeping babies so we went over to the big Amazon return place to see what they have today. We did find several things there and daughter wanted a couple things. We came home just in time for hubbie to go pick up g-son from school. Daughter and the girls came over and RL also came up after she got home from school. The girls played for a long time outside in the nice warm sunshine. We are trying to soak up all these days we can because these days are numbered now. Even EA loved soaking up the sunshine today. This little angel has been with us for one month today and time sure has flown by.

After everyone left hubbie and I got chores done and then gathered the laundry off the line and put it away before relaxing for the evening.

Thankful for the blessings of this day.

God Bless and Good Night

GRAND DAD'S APPLE HOUSE VISIT

 Monday mornings roll around so often lately !!!!   Hubbie took g-son to high school then rode with daughter to drop IR at pre-school.  I got chores done and then came inside just as hubbie was getting home with CA as she wanted to stay here as usual. They had stopped at a drug store to get some cold medicine for the girls but CA seemed much better today than yesterday.  We all had breakfast since hubbie hadn't had tome to eat earlier. He is a big breakfast eater and always has sausage, eggs and biscuits with his coffee. CA had waffles today and I had my regular oatmeal with apples and honey today.  After we ate we all walked down to the gate on driveway to open it and turn it off until a neighbor came to pick up a cake and the hot banana peppers I picked last night.  I got laundry started while hubbie and CA played outside in this beautiful warm, sunny day.  After Fred picked up the cake and peppers we walked back down and closed the gate. CA must be feeling much better because she ran and explored all the way up and down our long driveway both trips we made. I did more laundry and put away last weeks laundry waiting on daughter and d-in-love-Tif to come in for lunch with all the girls. Tif brought me a salad from chick-f-la. After we ate we decided to make a trip over to Grand Dad's apple house with the girls.  They had fun and we got some baked goods and I got some nice sweet potatoes.

Next year there will be two more little girls picking out pumpkins and having fun !!!! But for now they ride in their cozy carriers on mommy's chest.

I bought the girls all a small pumpkin and we picked up RL on the way home so she could come up and play with IR and CA and color their pumpkins.

                                                  

                                                  

They got a start on the "Fall" fun season and we enjoyed watching them have fun. The big girls even pushed CA on the swing which made her very happy.

Daughter took all of them to her house for supper so hubbie and I watched the news then got chores done. 

Thankful for the blessings that filled this wonderful, beautiful  day.

God Bless and Good Night

FISH FRY SUNDAY

 Up to get another Sunday started. It is still in the upper 40's this morning for another cool morning. I got chores done and then had breakfast.  We did some house cleaning and then started getting lunch ready. Deb, d-in-love-A's mom gave us a couple bags of catfish that her and her boyfriend John had caught last week and we thawed them out to fix for today's lunch plus I put some chicken pieces in the instant pot this morning in case someone doesn't like fish. We fixed baked potatoes, corn, green beans and biscuits to go along with the fish. We grilled some of the fillets in butter, lime juice and spices and we fried some of the fillets. 

Both ways we fixed the fish were delicious and everyone enjoyed lunch very much. We all had a nice visit after we ate and let the kids play outside.  #2 son , d-in-love-Tif and NP didn't make it because NP wasn't feeling well this morning, A was working and didn't make lunch and son-in-love and his brother Ben had to go to Asheville to pick up their niece's car that had broken down with her at the place she works at.  After everyone left I rode with daughter to Walgreens to pick up some medicine for the girls runny noses. She dropped me back off and IR wanted to stay here so hubbie, IR and I spent a lot of time just relaxing out in the covered patio enjoying this beautiful day.

The colors of the fall season are starting to really show up with the last few cold nights and cool days.

 IR  helped with chores and helped me pick these hot banana peppers of the dying vines.

A neighbor who I ran into yesterday at the craft fair wants them so I was glad to get them off before the vines completely wilted away.  We took IR home after we ate supper and then hubbie and I relaxed for the evening.  RL got to explore a beautiful waterfall this afternoon with her mom.

Thankful for the blessings of a wonderful family filled Sunday.

God Bless and Good Night

FUN AND BUSY SATURDAY

 Up to another cool morning at 46 degrees. I got chores done and then had my breakfast while waiting for daughter to come pick me up to go with her and d-in-love-A to a craft fair just up the road from our houses. It's hosted by one of our neighbors and she tried to get daughter to sell her cakes in it but with a new born baby daughter didn't feel like she could commit but we are going to go to the sale to check it out. We all found some things we couldn't live without and the girls had a wonderful time browsing around.

We came home from there and I made a cake delivery then we all loaded up including hubbie this time and went to a neighborhood garage sale which was winding down by the time we arrived but we managed to find several really good deals and even some "free" things that people had sat out after they closed their sale down. Some of the houses already had their Halloween decorations and the girls enjoyed looking at these as we drove around.  We stopped by a liquidator place on the way home and the girls enjoyed getting to walk around in there with no other customers around.

This is the little artist desk that d-in-love-A got RL at the sale and she couldn't wait to get home and get it set up to draw on.

After they dropped hubbie and I off and they went home to check out their goodies hubbie and I went to work on our overgrown yard. We got the bushes cut down in all the beds and even got the corner below the sunroom cleared out and the boxwoods trimmed down below the windows. We were so busy I didn't take time to make any before pictures but this is what the corner looks like now.

We got chores done and then crashed for the evening. We are both worn out and an early bedtime is in order. Another tropical storm was named today, Teresa, but she will have no affect of land thankfully. We are still watching Sam who is a major hurricane and are hoping that he will do what is predicted and head out to sea also.

Also today last but certainly not least this little sweetie, EA,  turned 4 weeks old. She wasn't in a mood to have a picture taken tonight !!!

And this little lady, NP, turned one month old today, where has the time gone ?????

Thankful for the blessings of this day.

God Bless and Good Night

FIELD TRIP FRIDAY

 Up to an earlier alarm this morning. I got chores done and grabbed breakfast while hubbie was doing his kid deliveries . RL has a field trip to a local apple farm today and ask me to come along. I need to be there at 9:15 so it is a hurry up morning. The temperature was 41 degrees earlier so it calls for long pants and sweater for the first time this Fall season.  I met Deb, RL's other g-ma there and RL acted like she was glad to see us both and kept telling everyone she had 2 g-mas there with her. 

RL was the leader of the line most of the day.  We went on a wagon ride through the orchard and then they got to pick out apples of all different kinds to take home and of course they got to play on the play ground.

We had so much fun and I'm glad I got to go and to meet RL's classmates and teachers.

I came home when the trip was over and hubbie and CA loaded up and we went to pick up chicken feed at Fletcher feed and then stopped by another friends apple farm to pick up a couple bushels of apples for the season. We got Jonagolds and Fugis which are a couple of our favorite varieties to keep and preserve. I plan on drying a lot of apple slices this year and making some apple peel jelly for hubbie because that is his favorite.

Daughter brought IR and EA over to stay while she went home and mowed her lawn. Hubbie went to pick up g-son from school and I played with IR and CA while EA slept the entire time she was here.

RL wanted to come here after school so her mom brought her up and they stayed a while. Everyone went home except RL and she begged to stay a little longer so she helped us with evening chores then rode with us to pick up our Walmart curbside order. She conked out on the way home so her dad came out and to the car and carried her inside. She has had a big day today.

Thankful for the blessings of this day and the ability and opportunity to go with the kids on field trips and other outings.

God Bless and Good Night