SATURDAY NIGHT VISITORS

Yuck a cold rainy morning. As I did chores before getting ready for market I was wishing I could just go back to bed and snuggle under the covers for a while.
But off to market I went and just as I expected the parking lot was almost empty of any customer cars.
I am thankful for what I did sell and the day wasn't a total wash-out as there were actually more customers coming in than I had expected.
Everytime I looked out the  window rain was pouring down. I made 8 towel angels between customers today and even had time to check my e-mails on my computer.
Thankfully just before closing time the rain completely stopped and I got loaded without getting soaked. As I made a stop at Aldi for baking supplies for this coming week the rain started to sprinkle again.
By the time I reached home it had stopped again.  Hubbie and I got the van unloaded and things put away before we both took  went outside to do the chores while the rain has stopped. There was almost 1 1/2" in the gauge this evening.
A UNC/Kentucky basketball game started on TV at 5:30 so we wanted to be finished outside so we could watch the game.
We had two little visitors tonight while their parents went to a friends birthday gathering.

Little Evy is getting to be a handful as g-son can attest to as right after this picture she grabbed his ear and didn't want to turn loose !!
Another surprise visit by daughter made these two even happier.

One of her best friends was having a celebration after just recently graduating from anestheology school and had gotten a job in Morganton,NC so she stopped by here to kill some time and watch the end of the game with us.
After some blurry pics I turned my flash on to get this as g-son gave Evy a big hug.

UNC won the game and all as well as Evy went to bed and g-son played games on the computer.
We had a great Saturday night.
After the kids were all picked up hubbie and I watched some TV and headed to bed.
Very thankful tonight to have such sweet little ones around and for the opportunity to enjoy them as much as I do , I know I am very fortunate and am humbly thankful everyday.
Good Night and God Bless.

CHRISTMAS PARTY TIME !!

When g-son got here this morning it was 18 degrees on the thermometer,brrr.
After getting him to school and breakfast I went out to let all the animals out of their nice warm houses. I used pans for waterers today as my plastic waterers will freeze before the temps get above freezing this morning.
Glad to have things to do inside today. I baked 2 pound cakes this morning and got another order ready for a pick up later today.
I decorated my kitchen tree and got some more decorating done. I am beginning to wonder if I am going to get this complete before Christmas eve. I did remember these new ornaments for this year from last February when I went  to the Biltmore House.

After a quick lunch I headed over to g-son's school to help with a surprise Christmas party.
This is a picture the grandmother who was organizing the party took of the happy class yesterday.

G-son is the one with his arms in the air in the grey sleeves.
Today we sat up craft, food , hammered ornament and playtime with some old timey toys stations with a couple volunteers or teachers at each station.
My station was food. This is an upside down gingerbread man turned into a reindeer's head.

We decorated and dipped and had a wonderful time making a delicious snack for the end of the party.

These two were the brave ones as they held the nails while the kids hammered out designs on ornaments.

The old timey toys were a hit with the kids as most of them had never seen anything like these before.

The craft table was a very exciting place to be as they all worked on ornaments and cards to take home later.

It was a nicely organized party and all the kids seemed to enjoy it very much and they were all very well behaved.

And finally it was time to eat all those goodies they worked so hard to create.

I was in my Santa hat and Christmas apron so hopefully one of the other mothers or teachers will share a pic of me to post on here later.
We partied until the end of the day then g-son and I headed home. He was still hungry when we got here and had his mac and cheese as usual.
As I watched the news tonight they showed a retirement party for this doctor. I realized this was the doctor that delivered both my boys. His name was fittingly Dr. Love.

Happy retirement doc !
I feel funny on a Friday night with no cakes to ice. The weather is going to be so nasty tomorrow I am sure market will be a ghost town.
Talked to daughter on her way home from a basketball game at Tuscola High School and they won both the JV and varsity girls games.
It is 37 degrees at 11:00 so maybe the rain won't start as ice.
Grateful tonight for my blessings of the day and praying that all the kids in g-son's class have a wonderful Christmas.
Good Night and God Bless.

CHRISTMAS TREE DECORATING

Got a wake up call from #1 son saying he was taking today off work to help his in-laws again and he would take g-son to school this morning. I didn't get any extra sleep because today is market day.
As I got ready for market Rebekah and her visiting brother came by to take a look at Aaron's big deer head in the freezer downstairs. We had a nice short visit while I was getting things ready for market.
It was a slow day at market as expected when I turned down main street and saw very little traffic.

 The streets have little decorations on them, only some animals, mostly dogs in the planters along the serpentine street.

The winds picked up during the morning making it feel much colder than the lower 40's temperatures. I don't blame folks for staying home today !
I only had a couple errands to run after market and just a Walmart and Ingles stop today. While I was in Walmart other grandmother who had picked up g-son from school called and dropped him off with me while she ran errands in town.
He was hungry and after a Happy Meal from the McD's in the store he was singing Christmas carols.
At least he made everyone we met smile !!
In Ingles they had hams on sale so I stocked up for Christmas gatherings and New Years day.
We got home about the same time as hubbie got home from work so he helped us unload. G-son had mac and cheese and Texas toast with cookies and a candy cane for dessert.
I did chores in the chilly evening air then sat down for a quick supper. While I ate g-son reminded me the Christmas tree needed ornaments on it and he thought this was a good time. So I got out the ornaments and he went to work. The tree topper Angel had to be in place first.

 He is very particular with his placement of the ornaments.

 This is his favorite, it was made by one of my kids probably when they were about his age. It is a dog bone puppy dog ornament.

 I helped some with the more fragile ornaments and the ones he just didn't like !!  He did a great job and was very proud of himself for getting the job done. Love this little guy !!!!

Mom and dad are both going to be late getting home so  after we finished decorating it was homework time. He read the entire book with only a little help on a couple words.

At least when his dad picked him up all he had to do was go home and take a bath to get ready for school tomorrow. 
I worked on getting some more business cards ordered tonight as I am about to run completely out at market. It took longer than I expected because every time I tried to pay they would give me another discount and I would need to buy something else to get my total back up to the "free shipping" level. I wound up getting 500 extra cards along with some stickers both regular and holiday, a couple lighted key chains and some personalized magnets for the same price the labels started out at, so it was worth the extra time it took.
Thankful tonight for the blessing of being able to watch g-son grow up and the joys grand children bring  into the life of grandparents.
Good Night and God Bless.

CAKE DELIVERY AND ELECTRA BRINGS RAIN FOR THE WEEKEND

I had to get up extra early to get the 40 caramel cakes loaded into the van. It is 23 degrees this morning so I couldn't load last night.
G-son got me in the spirit as he sang Christmas carols all the way to school.
He said his teacher told him she was glad he could carry a tune so he could help the rest of the class.
I went straight to the law firm to drop the cakes off after I dropped him at school.  They were glad to get them early so they could complete their deliveries. I was glad to be done and payed for this order !!!!
As I drove home I thought about what I was going to do with the rest of the day since I only had a few cakes to bake for market tomorrow. It's funny how, after this 100 cake order, the regular baking amount seems so miniscule !!
After chores and breakfast I started a load of laundry then baked 6 more caramel,1 chocolate and 1 coconut cake for tomorrow.
I decided to do some decorating outside since this is predicted to be the warmest day of the next week. It is only 48 but the sun is shining and there is no wind which is supposed to start tomorrow.
I got the decorations on the front porch and started on the back but discovered that since this year I want to use multi-colored lights on the two outside trees back there I only had enough for one of the trees. I have lots of inside multi-colored lights for some reason but no more outside,grrrr. Another trip Walmart !!
When hubbie came home he helped get the icicle lights on the front porch to finish that area  except for getting all the cords out getting things turned on.
After chores it was too dark to do that today. At least I lit up the icicle lights to go with the manger scene.
I did the weekly paper work and payed bills tonight before icing the cakes I baked this morning. I was reminded during the paperwork that I am still behind with November's figures but didn't have time tonight.
As I watched the late news the fifth named winter storm is headed for us for the weekend it seems. Electra is on her way across the Ohio Valley and will drench us again this Saturday.

With all this moisture coming our way if the cold air gets here it is going to get very interesting !!!  The snow cover map shows snow farther south and east than is usual for this time of year !

Nothing like a little snow on the Christmas decorations to get in the Christmas spirit !! Although around here I guess I had better find some other way to get in the spirit !!
Grateful to God for all the blessings of the day and for giving me the opportunity to worship during this season of Jesus's birth.
Good Night and God Bless.

BASKETBALL VICTORIES

Got a little extra sleep this morning as #1 son is taking today off to help his in-laws move some things around at their place so he took g-son to school.
The overnight rain left another 1/2" of rain in the gauge this morning and the brisk wind is blowing the colder air into our area.
After chores I baked the last 12 caramel cakes for the large order then iced the 12 I baked last night before taking a lunch break.  After lunch I iced 6 more caramel cakes before picking up g-son.
As I drove down the drive way I noticed all these ducks around our flooded farm pond as the warm sunshine sparkles off the water.

We hurried home to get something for him to eat before heading out to daughter's basketball game.
They are playing cross county rival East High tonight. Daughter never sits down during the entire game she is giving instructions to the girls on the floor.

There is an extra "man" on the bench ???

He has a concerned look, "you really think that plan will work"  ???

They won the game but it was definitely an ugly struggle.

D-in-love and Rebekah with little Evy made it to the JV boys game. Evy did great and was awed by all the action and noise.

The JV boys won also .
The varsity girls were getting their last minute instructions.

Evy made it all the way to half time in this game before she pooped out. D-in-love,g-son and I stayed for the whole game which we also won.

I made it home at 8:00 and iced the last 6 caramel cakes,whew I am finished with the 100 cake order and will be delivering these 40 cakes in the morning.

I am already getting calls from folks who want to know where they can buy more of these cakes.
Tomorrow is going to be another very busy day so I am headed to bed a little early tonight.The colder air has definitely arrived tonight as it is 31 now at 10:30  with 23 the predicted low for the night,brrr.
Grateful to God tonight for the strength He gives me each day and all the wonderful blessings but most of all for the birth of His only Son who would save us from all our sins.
Good Night and God Bless.

MORE CAKE BAKING

Slept in a little this morning as hubbie got up with g-son and took him to school. He got a haircut on the way home so I had some extra snooze time on a cold rainy morning.
After chores and breakfast we headed over to do some errands in Asheville we've been putting off. Thankfully the rain slacked off before we hit the interstate for the drive over.
We stopped at the WNC Farmers market for some fruit. We couldn't find the Ponkans we went after so we settled for a box of Lee's fruit and a box of Ruby Red sweet potatoes.
We also made stops at the Asheville tractor supply and a Walmart on the way home. After a quick lunch at Subway we made it home about 1:00.
I settled in the kitchen to do some cake baking and hubbie had some work to do outside. The day has turned out not so bad with the clouds not delivering the amount of rain that was predicted.
There was 1 1/4" of rain in the gauge this evening.
I got 12 more caramel cakes baked, that's all the extra pans I had .
Hubbie went to pick up g-son. I got him settled in with some mac and cheese and hubbie left to do some "honey dos" over at daughter's house. Some of her Murray Cypress border trees had blown over in last weeks wind and she wasn't strong enough to get them stood back up.
Hubbie took large stakes over to hopefully keep them upright.
I got my new clear lighted small tree decorated in the sunroom while g-son watched TV.
After chores tonight it was back to the kitchen for me to ice the 18 caramel cakes I baked last night.
Old Santa made the climb to the top of Chimney Rock today.

I'm sure he thought the climb was worth it to get this beautiful view.

Aaron and Rebekah came by this evening and I now have a huge 10 point deer head in my big chest freezer down stairs that he shot.
The temperature at 11:30 tonight is 45 degrees, makes me wonder what the morning will bring ??
Grateful to God for safe travel today and for all the blessings of the day.
Good Night and God Bless.

CHILDRENS MUSICAL

Woke to a nasty weather morning today. With the temp at 35 degrees and a cold rain falling the animals didn't even stick their heads out of their nice warm houses when I opened the doors !
Church was special today as the pre-school and children's chior put on their play and sang songs of the birth of Jesus.
This is the pre-school chior all dressed up in their "donkey ears" for their songs.

The children's choir put on a little play and sang lots of songs to complete our worship service today.

G-son was a Wiseman in part of the play.

The reason his partner is laughing in this pic is because g-son had just sneezed into the microphone !

 All the kids did a great job and conveyed the true meaning of  the Christmas season very well. They all sang out loudly and remembered all their lines.  Great job kids and directors !!!

We had lunch with #1 son's family and Aaron, Rebekah and Evy while daughter went to another church to watch a friend of her's in her Christmas play and #2 son is working. He will have to work every Sunday until Christmas picking up packages.
He and daughter came by later for late lunches.
After everyone left I got some more decorating done. I love this tree out in the sunroom that sports snowmen lights, snowflakes and red apples.

With a fire glowing in this fake fireplace stove the room looks so inviting I just love being out there.

I also got an idea for another tree in here but will have to buy a small clear lighted tree tomorrow. I also got another of my favorite trees decorated. This tree sits on the old woodstove with my snow village decor and has only homemade ornaments on it along with the cow lights..

I also broke my "no work on Sunday" rule again and got a jump start on my last 40 cakes of the 100 cake order I took by baking 18 cakes tonight,forgive me Lord !!
I poured out only about 3/10ths inch of rain from the gauge tonight at chore time. The temperature tonight at 10:30 is 36 degrees and the light rain continues to fall making for a cold, foggy night out there. Predicted temperatures are too warm for any ice to form so we fortunately dodged the ice bullet this time.
So grateful tonight for my wonderful life and as I watched the children this morning at church I silently prayed thankfulness for being able to sit and watch the second generation in my family in these Christmas musicals.
Good Night and God Bless.