CHRISTMAS PARADE

The alarm sounded an hour earlier than usual on a Saturday market day this morning. Thankfully the rain has passed and the sky is clear as we get ready for market.
The parking lot was almost empty when we got there so there was no challenge to find a spot close to the door.
The day was a slow one even with the parade traffic walking through.
Old Saint Nick had a beautiful day to make his appearance in town today.

I had some nice visits with friends who I haven't seen in a while who had come for the parade.
After market I made supplies stops at Aldi and Walmart before making it home around 4:00.
The weather is a little cooler but not as cool as the predictions as it is still around 50 degrees, but the nice sunshine makes it feel even warmer.
Our area is still under a freezing rain advisory from midnight tonight until tomorrow evening.

This is winter storm Dion who has wreaked havoc all across the country by causing a massive ice storm. Hopefully for us it will be only minimal icing and mostly rain although we are already saturated after the last storm dropped another 3/4" of rain on us last night.
I did chores then I was determined to get more decorating done along with some house cleaning.
With the help of hubbie I got the house cleaning done, got all the rugs switched out for Christmas ones and got all the trees up. They have no ornaments on them yet but they are up and ready for them.
Here is some of the things I did get finished tonight,that is unless I decide to change them !!!

 I am looking forward to slowing down a bit later next week and enjoying the Christmas season !
My goal for tomorrow is to get the decorating completely finished. Guess we'll see how that works out tomorrow.
Thanking God for the reason for this season, His wonderful Son !
Good Night and God Bless.

DEACON DINNER

So glad it isn't raining yet this morning because after dropping g-son at school I have the first 60 caramel cakes of the 100 cake order in the back of the van to deliver.
I got all the cakes carted into the lawyer's office before the rain started to sprinkle. After filling out tax forms I stopped by Ingles on the way home to restock g-son's supply of cookies.
At home the animals were wondering where I had been but none of them fused to long with their mouths full of their breakfast !
I stayed in the kitchen all morning again baking 12 more caramel cakes for tomorrow's market orders. I also added a coconut, 2 pound cakes and a wine cake before having lunch.
After lunch I decorated for the afternoon. I got the curtains changed in the living room and all but 1 of the plastic containers sitting on my front porch emptied. It rained off and on all day and by the time I did the chores early there was 3/4" of rain in the gauge.
Hubbie came home and we hurried through the rest of the chores to get ready to go to the Deacon's Christmas dinner at the NC Justice Academy. There is always good food and good fellowship at this event.

This lady with the candle in front of her was celebrating her 93rd birthday today.

After we ate and visited with our church family we headed home. I started icing caramel cakes and hubbie made a trip to Sam's Club for some chips for the fifth quarter event that daughter is involved with tonight after the ballgame.
Her JV team won but the varsity lost to cross county rival West Henderson tonight.
The rain has started to really pour down outside as the cold front is passing over our area tonight. I looked at the thermometer and it is an unbelievable 63 degrees at 11:00 tonight,wow !!  A 20 degree drop in temps is predicted for overnight and another 20 degree drop during the day tomorrow will bring winter back with a vengance !!!
Hopefully all this rain will pass through before the parade tomorrow morning in town. When I get all the cakes wrapped hubbie and I will get things all packed up and ready to load early in the morning so we can get to market before the parade traffic hits town.
We are both so tired tonight we are like two sore tailed cats but we'll get it done !!
Thankfully my knee is feeling better tonight even after being on my feet all day so that is a great sign.
Praising God for the love He shows each of His children each day.
Good Night and God Bless.

SLOW MARKET, RAIN MOVES IN

G-son was really ill tempered this morning as we got ready for school. Not a good way to start the day for him as he refused to eat breakfast so I know he will get hungry before his noon lunchtime !
I got ready for market on this warm morning. The rain is supposed to start sometime this morning. 
Market was really slow today . I got some towel angels made while I had no customers.
I even had time to do a little on-line Christmas shopping. I had a couple extra errands to run after market so I slipped out a little early but I'm sure no one noticed !!
I stopped by our insurance place to pay our home owner policy and had a nice visit with our agent/neighbor.
I made it home after 5:00 to find the lady waiting for her order. She had just gotten here so that was lucky because I had forgotten what time she was coming.
Hubbie came in right behind me and helped get unloaded. The rain is getting harder now and we did the chores in a steady down pour.
The third winter storm named Cleon is moving into drench us for the weekend.

Unfortunate for the downtown Christmas parade scheduled for Saturday.
Just as this storm reaches us the fourth storm enters the west coast, this one is called Dion.

Wonder what he will bring our way ???
Daughter lost both her ballgames last night as they played North Buncombe High school.
She also is a single girl again as her boyfriend Matt couldn't handle the time she spends coaching and doing other things with the church youth,etc.
She will find someone that loves her enough to support her in all that she does and until that one comes along she will be fine.
I think she saw this coming for awhile now as there was some other differences each one had for their future that were pretty significant. I talked to her a couple times today and she didn't seem very upset.
As I came home tonight #1 son was putting up Christmas lights around his house. G-son was so excited he was just running around in the yard singing.
Talked to #2 son tonight also and he said they have moved his closing up to the first or second week in January which he was glad about.
I am headed to bed early tonight to get some extra zzz's for a busy day ahead tomorrow. Hubbie and I got all the 60 caramel cakes loaded in the van so I can deliver them as soon as I drop off g-son in the morning.  They need 40 more next week so that won't be as busy as this week.
I have a couple large caramel cake orders for Saturday at market so tomorrow will be more of a baking day than I expected.  Hopefully more decorating can happen, I'm getting tired of looking at all the plastic containers setting around all the empty shelves !!
It has been uncomfortably warm this evening with high's today crawling above 60 degrees and remaining that way as it is 61 at 10:30 tonight with rain still falling.
God is so good all the time and blesses me in so many undeserved ways it is amazing.
Good Night and God Bless.

PHONE AND INTERNET PROBLEMS

Another morning dealing with phone problems. A lady called from S.C. to give me a large cake order and I couldn't even hear her over the static on the phone line. I finally managed to get her my cell # to call back on.
 When I called the local supervisor he said he would have someone here in about 30 minutes. I remind you they were just here working on it Sunday !!
About 2 hours later I got a call from the repairman who was headed this way. He said he would call me back when he had the problem located. I never got a call back from this repairman.
And when I tried to get on the internet to post my blog last night I had no internet. I picked up the phone and there was complete silence.  I called the supervisor back and told him what was going on.
So needless to say I am writing this blog on Thursday and back dating it.
I spent the morning finishing up my caramel cake icings before starting the day behind laundry chores and housecleaning.
I got up a few Christmas decorations before picking up g-son from school.
He helped me pick out a few more decorations to put up but he is really selective about what he wants to decorate so it went really slowly. But he enjoys it so much I can play along.
After his mom picked him up for church I tackled the week behind paperwork and bill paying. It always amazes me at how much extra work accumulates with just one missed week.
I took a break and watched Survivor on TV then went back to my desk.
I iced some chocolate lava cakes that daughter made for a special order to picked up here tomorrow night then called it a day.
I twisted my knee stepping off a ladder during the decorating this afternoon and it is hurting pretty bad tonight. Never does a year of decorating go by that I don't hurt something.  Oh well I still love doing it !!
This has been another above normal almost 60 degree day but the clouds have hung around all day again.
Praising God for all my blessings.
Good Night and God Bless.

MORE CAKE BAKING

After getting g-son to school I made a quick trip to Walmart for some more dark brown sugar and milk for my icings today then hurried home to meet the Direct TV man.
He came shortly after I arrived and was a very nice man and seemed very knowledgeable about what we needed. He got the old TV boxes switched and then put up a new bigger dish and installed the new HD box for our new TV. He worked almost 2 hours on getting things set up.
I iced 6 caramel cakes while he worked.  I had planned to do some laundry but will wait on that.
After he left I had an early lunch and started baking cake layers again. I baked another 60 layers for 30 more caramel cakes.
I took all the stuff off the shelves in the living room today and dusted them ready for the Christmas decor that goes on them.
I picked g-son up from school and he was very tired, he didn't sleep well last night and it showed as he almost went to sleep on the way home.
He ate his mac and cheese and then his dad came after him early to go to the dentist.
I did some more decorating and carried more plastic containers down to the porch so I wouldn't have to get out in the rain that is beginning tonight and do it tomorrow.
We are in for a roller coaster ride with our temperatures to start off this December.

The third winter storm of the season is poised to bring us the cooler temps and rain this weekend.
It has already hit the western states pretty hard with snowfall.

Daughter's basketball team won both their games tonight as they travel to Polk County High School.
I spent the evening again icing caramel cakes. I only got 18 iced tonight before my back and legs gave out on me. Tomorrow is another day !!
I am tired tonight and can feel the extra work I am doing this week all over my body. It has began to rain outside pretty hard and the temps are still hanging around 50 degrees at 11:00 after getting into the mid 50's under an all cloudy sky today.
Aaron and Rebekah got home from their Thanksgiving trip to Ohio tonight and I thank God for traveling mercies for them as they got to spend time with family.
Thankful for all the blessings from the Lord and for the birth of His perfect baby boy that saved us from our sins.
Good Night and God Bless.

BUSY BAKING MONDAY

UHHH!!!! The first Monday morning after a holiday break is always eye opening when that clock goes off !!
G-son arrived before 7am, thankfully hubbie got up with him but this was another one of those Monday mornings when it was me he wanted to talk to before hubbie took him to school.
I did chores and had breakfast then started a really odd Monday by baking cakes, lots of cakes !

A local business contacted daughter and I about making caramel cakes to give to all their business associates. They had been getting cookies from a local lady for years but she retired this year. They need 120 cakes in 2 week orders of 60 each.  Daughter is handling all the labels and logistics and I am doing the baking. She may have to help do some icing later if my back wears out !!
I figured out a schedule that will get the 60 cakes done by Wednesday night hopefully if all goes as planned.  This morning I baked 60 layers for 30 cakes.
I had a late lunch then rested my back from the mixing by putting up more Christmas decorations.
I got all the outside trees up,no lights on them yet but they are up and ready for them.
I emptied 2 of the inside containers and got the contents put up and then re-filled the containers with my normal shelf sitters to make room for the festive Christmas shelf sitters. I emptied off this old wood stove that sits in my dining room.

This was the  stove from my dad's old house.It is ready for the Christmas village.
The only thing I did complete was the outside Nativity Scene and I lit it up tonight for the first night.

After picking g-son up from school and getting him fed he was excited to help with some of the decorating.
Hubbie stayed busy outside in the nice 55 degree day even with the clouds hanging around on his wood pile and got a start at cleaning off the garden.
After evening chores I started my icing. G-son was excited to still be here while his dad was checking on his hunting stand so he could have a bowl of caramel icing.
I iced 24 caramel cakes tonight before my back gave out on me. Hubbie made boxes and I got all 24 of them wrapped and boxed.

I am thankful for this unexpected business to help my Christmas funds !!
Looking forward to a wonder season of celebrating the birth of our dear Savior.
Good Night and God Bless.

FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT --HOPE--

As our church service began today we lit the first candle of Advent season, the candle of Hope. About 700 years before the birth of Jesus Isaiah spoke of the coming of a "tender root" that would be the hope of the Gentiles. The hope candle today represents the hope we as Christians have in God and His promises to us.

I love this time of year in church and find myself tearing up more than once during the services.
Today we also celebrated the fifth anniversary of our associate Pastor's time with us. Craig has done a wonderful job in the past 5 years.
We had beef stew in the crock pot for lunch with some cornbread,yum. It was a good change from the turkey of the past couple weeks.
We had #1 son,d-in-love,g-son and daughter for lunch. #2 son got in about 6:00 from a trip with some of his friends so he was still sleeping and Aaron and Rebekah are visiting family.
After lunch and a nice visit everyone went home to begin Christmas decorating.
So did I, I got my manger scene set up outside and a couple other things outside while the weather is so nice. Sunny and about 50 degrees is perfect for decorating. I can think of times when the wind was whipping and it was ice cold that wasn't any fun at all.
I had to cut the decorating short to bake some cookies to take to church and do the chores early and get ready for our church's "hanging of the greens" service tonight.
#2 son came by to eat a late lunch while we got ready.
This is how the church looked when we got there and we were getting things organized.

This service is one of my favorites, I can't decide which I like better, this one or the candle light service on Christmas eve.
The children carried in all the nativity scene figures and then sang Away in a Manger for us, they did a fantastic job. (g-son is in the red striped shirt in the front row)

 We all had ornaments to put the two huge trees. G-son was so excited he went back up with another ornament.  That is him in the red striped shirt on the right side of the tree, stretching to reach as high as he can.

It was a beautiful service and then we had a fellowship with treats downstairs afterward. We enjoyed more fellowship with our church family as we ate some of the yummy goodies.
Hubbie and I made it home around 8:00 and spent the rest of the evening relaxing.
I pray that your Sunday was special also as December begins and the Christmas season kicks into high gear.  May each day be filled with blessings and may there be hope and joy in every heart.

Good Night and God Bless.