KUMQUATS

Another late market morning,uhhh !!!
Thankfully there was no one there waiting or for that matter to even notice what time I arrived.
I had a couple very nice orders so I had a good day  even though the nasty rainy cool weather kept most of the customer away.
I have a new neighbor across the aisle,her name is Cathy and she takes as many bird photos as I do. She turns hers into cards, mats them and frames some for sale. She does a great job. Hoping she does a successful business.
I got a nice surprise at market today as a friend brought me a box of kumquats fresh from Florida. I have never eaten these and she brought some recipes for them but I like to just eat them. I like sour things and these aren't as sour as the lemons I eat. I will spread them out and hopefully they will ripen slowly so I can enjoy them for awhile.

Thanks Susan !!!

After market I ran errands and picked up baking supplies and groceries for some of my Thanksgiving cooking. 
Daughter has negotiated a large bakery deal with a local business for cakes for Christmas so I need to start collecting supplies for that now.
At home around 5:00 hubbie was waiting to help unload and get things put away before we did chores. We made it inside just after dark.
It has rained all day but I forgot to check out the gauge this evening.
G-son came to stay with us while d-in-love attended a meeting at church and son worked.
He is already so excited for Christmas he wanted to start decorating tonight. I like Thanksgiving and told him we could start the day after that.
The weather is going to feel like Thanksgiving with a cold front that is coming through this weekend.

I am tired tonight and hoping for a good night's sleep. Last night I couldn't get to sleep because hubbie was snoring loudly. I almost went to the couch. He doesn't usually snore that loudly but we think the drier air our wood stove creates makes us both snore when normally we don't.
He put a breathing strip across his nose tonight to see if that would quieten him down a bit.
Thankful tonight for generous friends and loving family.
Good Night and God bless.

EMPTY NESTS ???

This is the first morning this week I'm not in a hurry to get things done after I get back home from dropping g-son. I don't have to be any where today so I can have that extra cup of tea and get a good start in the New Testament as I just finished the Old last week.
I also got to take a nice long walk on this nice sunny, mid 40's morning. The moon was still plainly visible in the western sky this morning.

 I am always surprised when all the leaves fall off the trees at all the nest that are up in the trees.

It's fun to think about all those little eyes that watched me this past season from these nest.

This one is at eye level in one of my pear trees.

I baked cakes all morning ,12 caramel, 2 chocolate, 3 pound cakes and 1 wine cake. I have taken several orders for Tuesday so it is shaping up to be a busier day than I had expected.
After lunch I swept off all the patios and porches. All the Bittersweet berries left over from our wreath making of a couple weeks ago will be swept out to grow into new vines for next season's wreath making.
As I look down over the road I wander what this view will look like in just a little while as a news report in the paper yesterday said the new bridge contractors could begin work as early as this coming Monday.

After I picked g-son up from school I stopped at Dollar General for a gallon of milk and with g-son along that milk cost me $16 instead of $4, haha !!!
When I got him settled in with something to eat I worked on some paperwork and weekly bill paying.
When hubbie got home g-son went with him to feed the cow and work on something in his workshop.
That boy sure loves his Pawpaw !!
I iced all my cakes and got things ready for market by 11:00.
I still have to put a hot pack on my arm to get to sleep at night but is getting better each day thankfully.
Thankful tonight for God's unconditional love for His children.
Good Night and God Bless.

DOLLY'S TURN AT THE VET

It was Dolly's turn at the vet this morning so after getting g-son to school,chores and breakfast we headed out for her 9:15 appointment.  I want to have her eyes examined as I'm pretty sure she has a catarac started on one of them.
Sure enough she does have a catarac and he said she probably already couldn't see very well at all out of it. She also had conjuntivitis in the other eye,which he gave me some antibiotic ointment to put in it.
I asked him about some medicine I saw on the internet called "Can-C" to use to keep cataracs from getting worse and he hadn't heard of it. Guess it will be up to me to do the research. Anyone out there ever hear of it ?
We made it back home by 10:30 which was pretty good with all the animals they had at the office.
Dolly was definitely glad to be home and safely in her little space. You can see the catarac in this pic.

I tackled my weekly laundry and housework chores for the rest of the morning and into the afternoon.
It is chilly outside with a temperature of 52 degrees with partly cloudy skies so it is just as well I don't have time for any outside activities today.
After I picked up g-son I put away the last load of laundry for the week.
I need to do some sewing but just can't get in the mood.  Instead I sat out in the sunroom and drank a cup of hot tea while g-son serrenaded me with his little keyboard.
This colorful sunset got prettier as the sun went down tonight and I was almost to late to get a picture.

While I had my camera I snapped a picture of all my ladies enjoying their new bigger house.

It's funny how that back roosting pole in front of the window always gets filled up first,evidently window seats are popular everywhere !!!
After g-son left and the chores were done I watched the news from the couch with a hot pack on my right arm. Seems all this housework stuff irritates my pulled muscles !!
Talked to daughter tonight after their first game and they won very decisively so she was happy.
Her busy season begins as she said they have three games most weeks,whew !!
Thankful tonight for the love of animals that God put in my heart as I get so much joy out of being around and watching these amazing creations.
Good Night and God Bless.

LOVIN' LIFE AND MY LITTLES

G-son arrived before 7 this morning to get this day started for hubbie and me. As hubbie took him to school I did the chores and had breakfast before little Evy gets here. Her mom worked last night and she is going to have to start getting some sleep in the morning when she gets home so she won't get sick.  When she brought Evy in she put her straight back to bed for her morning nap. After giving me her schedule she went home for some much needed rest.
While Evy napped I left hubbie with her and took my broken glasses to the place I bought them. They ordered another nose bridge for about $50 so that wasn't so bad. They had a one year warranty and it expired this past July. The only concern is getting the new bridge in the exact location as the old one. It will take a couple days to get them fixed, lucky I have my old glasses !
When I got home Evy was still sleeping so I caught up some paperwork. About 11:30 she finally woke up !  That was an extra long morning nap but I don't think she slept well last night so she was probably catching up.
She was in a wonderful mood when she woke, so after she had her bottle we went outside on this beautiful sunny 65 degree day. She loves to walk around and look at the cows and chickens. I hate to wish her life away but I will be glad when she can actually "walk" around herself.
We came back inside and she played while hubbie and I had lunch, then I fed her lunch pumpkin/bananas, which she loved. It is so good that she eats as well as she does.
She played for  a little while and then got sleepy again so I put her back to bed.
While she slept this time I tackled a picture project of putting some photos in albums.
Hubbie's brother came at 2:00 to pick him up for the funeral of their aunt. All that activity woke little Evy but she again woke up smiling.
When her mom came after her she was all smiles and giggles.
They left in time for me to go pick up g-son. He was disappointed that Evy wasn't still here when he got here.
After getting him settled with something to eat I went back to work on the pictures. Once I get this started and get them all spread out I hate not to get it finished.
After #1 son came after g-son I did chores,then finally got all the prints I have in the album,whew !!!
Hubbie said the funeral today was nice and he got to chat with another aunt that lives in Florida.

 This fits Christine perfectly !!

As I came inside tonight I poured 1/2" of rain from the gauge from yesterday's rain.
The temps are suppose to get near freezing tonight and only in the mid 50's tomorrow behind the cold front that is blowing through tonight.
Yesterday the midwest got hit by a tornado outbreak that left six folks dead and many homes totally destroyed.

This aerial photo shows the path of one of the strongest with estimated winds of over 190 MPH.

To add to the strange mid November weather, there is the 13th named storm out in the Atlantic ocean right now.  Melissa is no threat to land but is causing some rough surf along the the islands and east coast.

Okay !! Mother Nature you know Thanksgiving is next week !!!   Time for all these big winds to subside until next spring !

My heart is full tonight after being surrounded with my favorite two little people all day today. I think that being a grandmother is what I have always been cut out to do, I just love it !!
Thankful tonight for the unconditional love that children give and the innocence that they view the world with. Wish I could be more like them !!
Good Night and God Bless.

WONDERFUL SUNDAY

Before church this morning I cut up carrots for a glazed carrot recipe I am trying for lunch.
Church was good today. We have so much "new" life in our church as I look around it's so great to see all the little ones.
This is little Evy ( the only little girl), and one of the little boys that were born in the series of about 6 babies last spring and summer. I think she will be able to take care of herself among all those boys !!!

We had roast beef, baked potatoes,corn,glazed carrots and Rebekah brought a delicious broccoli salad that got all gone in a hurry. The glazed carrots were very good also and had no left overs.
I love the laughter and conversation that fills the house on these Sunday afternoons. Makes me so happy that everyone enjoys each other so much.
#2 son was playing golf early today to hopefully get ahead of the rain that  started just after lunch.
After everyone left hubbie and I went to meet up with him to look at a house for sale up the road from us.  He made an offer on it but there is quite a bit of work that needs to done to the house.
He talked to the owner who lives in Florida and said he didn't think his offer was good enough but that he wouldn't be willing to go any higher because of the amount of work that will need to be done to the house. It is in a beautiful location but has been sitting and neglected for quite  awhile.
We put it in God's hands, if it is meant for him to get it or if there is something better that God has for him,now we wait. This is the house. Some of the windows had been left open upstairs letting rain blow in and soak into the downstairs ceiling causing a large sag.

It rained all afternoon ,pretty hard at times. I didn't look at the rain gauge as it was getting dark quickly when we got home from looking at the house so I will have a total tomorrow because it is supposed to rain all night anyway.
#2 son and hubbie watched the finish of the last Nascar race of the season when we got home .
Son took a plate of left-overs home with him when he left.
Still praying tonight for the family of Aunt Christine who died yesterday. This is the obit that was in today's paper.

She was a special lady and will be greatly missed.

Thankful today for wonderful Sunday worship services and for the freedom to worship as I please without fear.
Good Night and God Bless.

BEAVER MOON AND GOOD BYE CHRISTINE

Some mornings for some reason are just harder than others !!??  Today was a harder one for me. Although I had left my van unlocked so daughter who was coming to bring her baked goods by before 7:00 could just put them in there without waking us up.  Didn't work out as the dogs started barking when she came up the drive,I thought it was #1 son bringing g-son for school so I jumped up.
After I realized what was going on I was too far awake to go back to sleep for that extra 30 minutes.
I layed there and listened to hubbie snore the extra time away,that man could sleep through anything!!
I did the normal things to get ready for market but for some reason it took longer this morning and I was 10 minutes late getting to market. There was only one lady waiting there for me and she didn't seem to be in any hurry.
Surprisingly the parking lot was pretty full and I had a busy morning. Although around noon the traffic through market dried up entirely and left all us sellers looking at one another in silence.
I did about 1/2 the business as last Saturday. At least I had time today to walk around the market and check out all the other merchandise.
After market I stopped at Aldi then headed home. Hubbie was working on collecting some wood from the fallen tree in the pasture so he came up and helped unload the van.
He went after one more load and I took a nice hot tea break out in the sunroom with the 4-legged kids.
After chores and a light supper hubbie and I watched our country music shows on TV and relaxed. The day has been nice, warm upper 50's and partly sunny but this evening the clouds thickened up and it looks like it could rain any minute. Tonight and tomorrow night is the full moon known as the "Beaver Moon". Called that some say because it is the last full moon before cold and snow set in to trap the beavers and some say it is because of the frantic activity of the beaver's last nocturnal building attempts before winter weather sets in. At any rate we are not going to get to see much of this full moon because of the clouds and the rain that is coming tomorrow night.

One of Hubbie's aunts died early this morning at the local Hospice Center. She has been sick and in the hospital for weeks. She has cheated death for many years as she has only had about 1/4 of her heart working. She was ready to go meet God and said her good-byes last week. Hubbie and his brother went to see her last Thursday just before they moved her to Hospice. He said he was surprised to see her in such a weakened state but said he didn't think it would be very long at all until death came.
She was a very strong, active lady and was always ready to help in any way she could.  She has two daughters left after loosing one named Connie who I blogged about in May of 2012.  Her grandson was the young man who gave his life to God a couple Sunday's ago at our church.
I am praying for her elderly husband tonight who has had to have one of his legs taken off and the rest of her family as they deal with their loss. May they find comfort in the knowledge that she is with Connie and the other family that has gone on before in the presence of our Heavenly Father.

Thankful tonight for the love and comfort that our precious Heaven Father can give to guide us through the difficult times of our lives.
Good Night and God Bless.

RAINY DAY, BROKEN GLASSES

A little warmer this morning with a 28 degree temp when I got up before 7:00 to greet g-son.
After dropping him at school I came home to chores and breakfast. I always work the crossword puzzle in the paper each morning for brain exercise. Today's puzzle was a hard one and took longer than usual. I finally took a refreshing walk outside. The dulldrons of winter have set in, especially noticeable on a cloudy dreary day like today.

As I walked a misty rain started to fall and continued for the remainder of the day.
I baked 6 caramel cakes before lunch.
After lunch I gave the entire house a good cleaning that it hasn't had in the last few weeks. Funny how much better things look in a clean house !!
I was slower than usual still trying to protect my right arm from overwork as my muscle soreness gets better with each day.
I had to make a cake delivery at 3:40 which I was late getting to because of a fender bender accident that backed up traffic on my way there. I finally made it and the man who was waiting understood as he had seen the backed up roads.
On my way home I stopped by a garage sale on the road I live on and scored these 8 really nice placemats for only $5 .

Wish there was 2 more then I would have enough of the same to do both my tables.
They have been used but have no stains or damage.

In my decade pics for November, 1993, I found this one at my brother's house of my niece Susan's (in purple) birthday. Daughter is bending over and #2 son is holding another niece, Hannah as they watch Susan open presents.

Tonight I iced caramel cakes then watched a UNC/ Holly Cross basketball game which UNC won but didn't look very confident. It may be a long year,only time will tell.
As I reached up to take my glasses off tonight to get on the computer they came off my face in two pieces.

The nose wire just broke with no reason. I have not been happy with these glasses since I got them and never should have taken them with the promise that I would get used to them. They are constantly sliding down my nose and I have to take them into the eye glasses office very often to get them tightened up. I guess all that constant tightening is what stressed this nose wire.
I am really wondering what they will offer to do with them on Monday when I take them in? Maybe they can fix the wire I hope so because I can't afford another pair of these glasses. I love the lens just not the frames. If they can't fix them I don't think I will buy any more glasses from them. I've only had these a little over a year.
Lucky for me I still have my old glasses and the prescription is close so I have some glasses to wear for the weekend.
Tonight I am thankful for the dry leaf dampening  1/4" of rain that fell this evening, God knows what we need when we need it.
Good Night and God Bless.