OLD TIMEY CHRISTMAS

Up an hour earlier this morning to get to market before the crowds fill all the parking spaces close to the doors.
At 23 degrees I don't think many folks will be lining up to take buggy rides this early.
We got everything carried in and set up before any customers showed up. I got all my Christmas decorations up without any interruptions.

I was decked out in a crocheted skirt I made several years ago and everyone thought it was really beautiful. Even after market in Ingles a lady came up to me and commented on how pretty my skirt was and asked if I had made it.

Daughter bought me this hat to wear. It was supposed to be a hat and scarf combination but it was too hot to keep it around my neck inside.
We spelled out N O E L with the letters she cut out of the old books.

We had a nice crowd all day as they came to par-take the free refreshments.

This trio sang Christmas carols all day and they were impressively good.

And of course the free carriage rides were a huge drawing card.

G-son got to come out with his dad for a carriage ride after the temps warmed up a bit.Aunt T joined them.

He will have something else to ask Santa for this year !!!!

This tooth has been loose for a couple weeks and he pulled it himself last night.
He had fun on the ride and ate lots of the free cookies and cheese while he was here.
It was good for him and dad to get out together and have some fun.
I call this next photo "mini me"   hahahaha !!!

After market daughter and I went to Harris Teeter and Aldi together to do our shopping. I had to buy the supplies for the large order of caramel cakes for next week and I needed her to help lift the heavy boxes full of sugars, butter and eggs.
I came home and hubbie and I unloaded and found a place for all the supplies. I still need to go to Walmart for the 10 bags of dark brown sugar.
It was time for chores by the time we got things put away.
It has been a nice sunny but cool day with high only of 42.   All the animals look like they would really like some warm temperatures for a day or two.
Hubbie has spent the afternoon cutting more of the downed trees up for firewood. #1 son helped him get the Wild Cherry finished that fell in the pasture a while ago.
Last week the motor cycles brought toys for the under priviledged kids this Christmas so today it was the farmers turn to ride their tractors to town hauling toys.

Way to go guys and gals !!!!  Love the generous hearts in this county !!!
Daughter came by and hooked our new TV up. The picture isn't so good as we still don't have an HD box from Direct TV but at least you can see all the picture on the screen.
#1 son came by to get a Gold Sacagawea Dollar coin I had to put under g-son's pillow from the tooth fairy tonight. Someone at school told him that was what they got so of course that's what he is expecting !!
Luckily sometimes folks pay for things with these gold dollars from time to time and I happened to have this one laying on my desk.
This is unbelievably the last day of November 2013 !!  This month has flew by just like most of the rest seem to these days.  With a colder than usual month but a drier one it has been a calm weather month except for the snow storm this past Wednesday morning that was like a mini blizzard when the winds whipped the snow around.
For my family it has been a fairly routine month with the exception of #2 son finally found his new dream home. Thankfully just up the road from us.
Daughter finished up a winning volleyball season with a loss in the 2nd round of the state play-offs and started her basketball season.
#1 son has spent several mornings and evenings in the woods hunting but has yet to shoot anything.
He and d-in-love continue to paint and work on their new house to make it "theirs".
Market has been steadily busy for me most days and in spite of a couple of sore muscles and achy knees I still am managing to keep up with my two little loves, g-son and little Evy.
The power company has moved all their lines over for the new bridge construction to begin. I have a feeling things are going to look really different around here in a little while.
Hubbie lost one of his aunts, his mom's sister, Christine fought a long tough battle with heart disease .
All in all it has been a good month and we are all prayerfully grateful for God's grace toward our entire family.
Thankful tonight for another month filled with the love of my Heavenly Father and so, so thankful for His sending His own Son to save us all from our sins.
Good Night and God Bless.

LATE BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING

After my bath when I went into the bedroom last night to get in bed, I found my spot occupied.
G-son and hubbie were all spread out and comfortable. G-son was sleeping so peacefully on my pillow I didn't have the heart to wake him to move over.
I got a pillow and blanket and headed for the couch with my 4-legged kids to snuggle with to keep me warm. To my surprise the couch was very comfortable and I was so tired the lights reflecting in the big bay window didn't bother me at all.
When I woke up this morning to g-son asking if I wanted some breakfast with him I actually felt better in my back and hips than I do when I sleep in our bed.  I told hubbie we have got to get us a new mattress !!
I had a lot of cakes to bake today so I got started early. I baked 18 caramel,4 chocolate, 1 pound and a blackberry wine cake. Tomorrow is our "Old Timey Christmas" celebration at market and we always have a good sales day.
I ate a late lunch after I finished baking. #1 son came by and helped clean up the left overs.
Hubbie and I have been talking about getting us a new TV for about 6 months now. The one we have is almost 15 years old and the old heavy style.
Sam's has a pretty good "black Friday" deal on a 50" smart TV so we headed out there to see if they had any left. It wasn't a good enough deal to fight an early morning crowd over !!
G-son is glad they had some left as he is the one who watches the most TV around here.

He always wants money to put in the Salvation Army kettle to "help the poor kids get Christmas presents".

This bell ringer's hands were so cold she dropped her bell !!
When we got home we put the TV in our bedroom until one of the kids can get it hooked up or us.
We have to get a new HD box from Direct TV for this TV.
G-son helped hubbie outside all afternoon while I worked on some small cleaning jobs I've been putting off.
After chores #1 son picked up g-son to his disappointment, he wanted to stay another night so he could go to market to ride on the free horse and buggy rides tomorrow. 
 I spent the evening icing cakes and then hubbie and I boxed the orders and got the racks packed ready to load in the van. We can't put them in tonight because of the 26 degree temperature overnight.
I realized just now that this month is almost over and I have one more photo series to post this month. The unknown's for this month follow. If you recognize anyone in these pics please let me know.
Girls from a graduating class from Edneyville High School sometime in the mid 40's .

 The man sitting in this pic is my uncle Anderson Holmes,who the rest of these men are I would like to know.

I am thankful tonight for a wonderful night and day spent with grandson who is one special little boy to us, I am so thankful to live so close to be able to be a big part of his life as he grows up.
Good Night and God Bless.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING 2013

HAPPY THANKSGIVING   from our family to yours !!!


My day has been nice as I got to sleep in as long as I wanted for one day. As cold as it was this morning at 18 degrees the animals didn't mind staying in the warm houses a little longer.
I cooked sweet potato casserole, glazed carrots,green beans, corn casserole, mashed potatoes, gravy and dressing to go with the smoked turkey that d-in-love's dad did for us at his restaurant.
#1 son drove down and picked it up before they left for Tennessee to visit d-in-love's grandparents.
They will have to eat left-overs tomorrow.
With Aaron and Rebekah also visiting family out of state hubbie and I had our Thanksgiving lunch with #2 son and daughter.  We all ate too much !!!
Hubbie and I decided years ago that we would fix Thanksgiving lunch even if it was just the two of us,it's just our tradition.
After spending the afternoon trying to work off some of my lunch I took down and put away all the fall decorations. I had them all boxed up and when hubbie came in from working in his shop he helped put the boxes in the attic.
Daughter brought some old discarded books in and hubbie helped her cut letters out of them on his band saw. I thought they looked really cute, she is going to sell them at market.

#2 son came back for his supper of left-overs before he headed to Asheville to do some Christmas shopping at the early sales. Daughter and a friend headed over to Target to shop their sales. They picked up a new Dyson vacuum I wanted and daughter also got one for herself, at $259 down from $399 I thought it was a good deal. I am using the old Riccar I used to use at church and the sucking power isn't as strong as it needs to be with it's age and all the use it has had.
After sifting through all the sale papers today I only found the vacuum and some bras at Belks that I would like to have. At $12.99 down from $32 each the bras were a good deal and I only wear a certain one so this was a good enough deal to inspire me to brave the crowds.
I figured there wouldn't be many folks at Belks but I was wrong. If hubbie hadn't been with me and said we're here at least lets go in, I would have turned around and come home. The parking lot at the mall was overfull and spilling into a nearby bank. There were only 2 stores in the entire mall open tonight, Belks and Pennys so I figured if all these folks were in these 2 stores they must be crazy crowded !!
And I was right !!!!  However I did make it back to lingerie and found myself practically alone in this department. I went through the cabinet where my style bras were and picked out all the ones in my size, only 6 of them. So I bought all of them for the price of 2 at regular price.  I also found a pair of really nice boots in my size that were $19 marked down from $70.  Now the craziness started !!! I needed to pay for my deals !!!  The lines were crazy long at every register. We stood in line for an hour.  Glad I didn't have anywhere else to go !!
I guess it wasn't so bad but I am still in disbelief at how many people were in these 2 stores !!!
Daughter and her friend had the same experience at Target and finally made it back here about 11:00.
#2 son only went to Dick's Sporting Goods but he was already back home when we were on our way home. He said he got in and out pretty quickly as they were very well organized for check-out crowds.
#1 son brought g-son in about 11:00 to spend the night with us so we all won't have to get up so early in the morning. #1 son is going hunting early and d-in-love has to work.
G-son came in the door and headed for the bedroom, he was tired from his day of travel. They left about 11:30 this morning to make the four hour trip to her grand parents, ate, then drove back.
Today has been a really nice sunny low 40' s temperature day but tonight it is going back down around 20.  I perfect day for a relaxing Thanksgiving.
I am very thankful tonight for the traveling mercies from God for the traveling part of the family and for all the delicious food provided by God's love for us.
Good Night and God Bless

THANKSGIVING EVE SNOWSTORM

Surprise,surprise !!!!!

A pre-Thanksgiving  snow storm creating blizzard conditions greeted me as g-son arrived this morning. D-in-love had to work today so she waited an hour late to head to Asheville in hopes that the storm would pass, but it didn't. #1 son who worked another overnight shift with the DOT last night was sleeping in case he had to go back to work tonight.
These guys have never seen snow before !!!

With the high winds nothing outside even under shelter escaped a coating of the white stuff this morning.

I can remember a snow fall before Thanksgiving when I was in high school because my cousin and I got stuck after basketball practice and had to wait for her dad to finish milking his dairy cows before he could bring his 4-wheel drive truck and pick us up. My parents were supposed to get us but they had nothing to drive in the snow.

The road looked pretty treacherous as the snow flew and the temperature dropped from 30 around 8am to 28 by the time I got g-son settled with breakfast and headed outside to do the chores.

I caught this blast of snow blowing from the barn roof.

And this "snow tornado" out in the pasture.

The cattle looked unimpressed when Annie and Flash wanted to play !!

I re-filled all the bird feeders for the hungry cold little feathered friends.

As I put out bird seed a truck drove up in the yard and a young man in camo jumped out. He came up in the yard asking if I knew I had some very rare ducks down on the pond. He said there were three Gadwell Ducks down there that were very rare and worth a lot of money as pets sold in pet shops. I said those are wild ducks, they are not pets or meant to be pets. As I grew more skeptical of him Annie circled his legs.  He said would you like for me to hunt them for you ???  I'm sure by the puzzled look on my face he re-phrased what he had said ( since these ducks were pretty much just "sitting ducks" as they swam around in the flooded areas of our pasture).

He said would you like me to shoot them for you ??
I said absolutely not, we do not allow any hunting on our property. He turned and started to jog back to his truck but stopped short as Annie had his ankle in her mouth.  Lucky for him he did have boots on,probably with holes in them now, hehe.  I told Annie to let him go and told him not to run but walk slowly. He did and then slowly backed all the way down the drive, I'm counting on him not coming back !!  I came inside and looked up Gadwell ducks to see just how bad he was pulling my leg. To my surprise these ducks look a lot like female mallards. So who knows maybe there are some down there but it is not that rare for them to be in this area.
Hubbie got sent home from work at 10am because they called all the vehicles back in off the roads.When he went out to bring more wood down g-son who had been chomping at the bit all morning to get out in the first snow of year, happily went along to help. Loving his "goldfish" hat !!

It didn't take long for him to get his fill of the wind and snow today.
He was satisfied to play inside for the rest of the morning while I did laundry and housework.
After lunch the snow stopped and the sun came out but didn't warm it up much at all. There is lots of water down in the lower pasture from the near flooding last night.

I had a cake delivery to make so hubbie and g-son rode along and we made stops at Aldi, Tractor Supply and Home Depot. I also got my glasses worked on as they were crooked after the new nose piece was added.
The snow started to fly again while we were out. This is at Tractor Supply while I waited in the van for hubbie and g-son to pick up a couple things.
The sun was shining but the snow was coming down again in the whipping winds.

G-son cannot wait for Christmas to get here !!!

No we didn't buy the Elmo stocking, he just like to listen to it sing Christmas songs. Then he sang "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" the rest of the afternoon.
Unfortunately some folks weren't enjoying the day like we were thankfully able to do as they were without power on this cold day. The winds brought down many trees onto power lines and even some houses. Fortunately no one was hurt in all this.

Hopefully we have seen the last of winter storm "Boreus" as tonight the wind has died down some and the snow has stopped falling. But a cold night is coming as the temperature at 11:00 is 24.
It was a strange Wednesday evening for me, not to be baking and icing cakes for market day tomorrow. I took advantage of it and spent a lot of time snuggling with my 4-legged kids. Daughter picked up g-son to go meet d-in-love and see a movie.
Thankful tonight for a warm home and for God's grace in this storm as well as "life's storm".
Good Night and God Bless.

RAINY TUESDAY MARKET DAY

My phone alarm went off before 6am telling me that there would be a 2-hour delay of school this morning. I went back to sleep only to be awaken a short time later by a call from #1 son who had had to work all night with the DOT checking for ice on the roads,tell me that he would take g-son to school this morning.
Hubbie took today off to help me with my busy market day so we got ready to go. It is really a messy morning with pouring rain and temps about 34 degrees.
We made it to market a little late but no one else was there and no customers had ventured out on the roads yet.
As we got pretty busy about mid morning I was thankful that folks got out in the messy weather. I was actually surprised be the amount of traffic we had today. Thank you Lord and thank you for not sending that ice our way.
The rain poured steadily all day. Hubbie left just after lunch to make a stop at Sam's Club then home to see how high the water was.
When I left market I made one stop at Walgreens to pick up some prints I ordered and then stopped by school to pick up g-son.

As I sat in the car line watching it rain I thought about how used to this we were this past summer but since we haven't had any rain in quite a while it just seems so nasty now.
#2 son called and asked if I would take some papers by the bank for him so I brought g-son home,unloaded my cake racks from the van and headed back out in the mess to the bank.
It didn't take long as the lady that he was working with was waiting on me.
Back home I watched the creek rise out the front windows and figured we would surely have a flood but then the rain slacked off some.
#1 son picked up g-son to take him to get a haircut so I went out in the lighter rain to do the evening chores. Aaron brought a bale of hay to the cattle and horse and put them all in the upper pasture.
I emptied 3.5 inches  from the rain gauge on my back inside and it is still raining.  We have officially set a new record around here for the rainiest year ever.  I am very thankful that all this water was rain and not the ice and snow that was predicted !!!
Daughter's team has a home basketball game tonight so although we missed her JV game we went out to watch the varsity. D-in-love and g-son joined us after their haircuts while #1 son had another all nighter at the DOT.
This is a picture from the local paper of my cousin who is one of the top players on the team this year. If you look at the blurred lady in the dark green sweater at the top, that is me cheering her on.

And this shooter has her hand over hubbie's face with me talking to d-in-love, and g-son is beside her.

They unfortunately lost the game but played really hard against a very physical team. The coach of the opposing team and daughter used to play AAU basketball together.
Our area went from a winter storm warning to a flood warning in one day as the rains are still falling.
And tomorrow it looks like snow for our area. It would be pretty cool to have a "white Thanksgiving" that would definitely be one for the record books !!

As I let the dogs out for their before bedtime run the temperature is 43 degrees, the warmest it has been in a couple days, snow????
Thankful tonight for the chance to support my kids in all that they do.
Good Night and God Bless.

BUSY BAKING MONDAY

G-son wanted me up when he got here this morning,apparently hubbie didn't have all the right answers for him !!!
While they left for school I did the chores in the cold below freezing temperatures. I had to find some metal pans to put the chickens water in because it isn't supposed to get much above freezing today so I don't want to take a chance on the plastic waterers freezing.
This is a different kind of Monday for me as I spent practically the entire day in the kitchen. With tomorrow being the last market day before Thanksgiving I have many orders and the phone has been ringing all morning. I baked 18 caramel,4 chocolate,3 coconut, 4 pound cakes before I took time to have lunch. It was almost time to go get g-son by this time.
Hubbie declared war on all the fallen leaves today and has spent the day outside and on the roof hopefully for the last time this season.
I have had my ear to the weather all day because the predictions for ice overnight could really make a mess of my orders tomorrow.
With the temperature not getting above freezing all day it could be an ideal time for an ice storm to move in.

Prayerfully I continue to bake.
Evidently the teachers thought this might be their last day before Thanksgiving vacation and they had their celebrations today. G-son was an Indian.

Just call him "Silent Snake"   !!!

After chores I was back in the kitchen now icing all those cakes I baked today.  I finished up about 11:30 and was very glad to get my aching knees and feet in the bed.
It is 31 degrees with only a light shower of ice pellets so far tonight.
Thankful tonight for the business the Lord sends my way just as it is needed.
Good Night and God Bless.                                                                                                                                           

#2 SON BUYS HOUSE, and WINTER STORM BOREUS HEADS OUR WAY

A rude awakening early on this Sunday morning was totally unexpected as a large At&t bucket truck rumbled up in the yard around 8am.
A very nice man explained that he was here to resolve the phone line problems in this area.
He went in search of the problem and we got ready for church.
Today was hubbie and I's quarterly nursery duty day. We were very fortunate this morning to have 4 adults working in there and only 3 two and under babies.
For a change it was a relaxing time.
This is all the Operation Christmas Child boxes our church has collected so far.

I missed the actual number but it looks like a lot !!
We had a big crock pot full of chilli for lunch with some of the left overs from last night. Everyone made it today. We had a housefull of wonderful conversation.
The phone man fixed the phone but said there needs to be a brand new cable put in down on the road before we will be completely fixed. Guess we will see how long his fix works !!!
All three of the girls, actually all 4 girls if you count little Evy  all piled into Rebekah's car for a shopping trip while Aaron and #1 son met up with another friend for some target practice before deer rifle season starts tomorrow morning. G-son stayed with hubbie and #2 son and I went up to look at my ex-sis-in-law's house she is selling. He called her and she said to get her son to take us up there even though it is on the realestate market.
I have been in this house before and had called #2 son last week and told him he should go look at it because it was exactly what he wanted. After looking at it this afternoon he agreed.

He loves all the wood inside.

When we got back home he called her back and they came to an agreement on price and he bought it.
I'm tickled to death because this house is less than 1/2 mile up the road from our place. He also has almost 2 1/2 acres of land with it so he can enjoy his privacy and still be close to everything.
I pray this all works out for all involved. Although this lady is an ex-family member my kids all still think of her as their aunt because she lived next door married to my brother all of their growing up lives. She is a special lady and will always be in all our hearts. She recently got re-married and moved to Tennessee with her new husband.
Everyone got done with the afternoon activities about the same time and daughter took g-son with her so he wouldn't have to go to his mom's music practice. He went with daughter to church later for his Christmas play practice.
After hubbie and I finished chores we made a trip to Tractor Supply to pick up some feed and animal supplies with a 15% off coupon that expired today.
On the way home the thermometer in the van already said 31 degrees. Yes it is this time of year
again !!!

The second winter storm of the season has our area under a "Winter Storm Watch" until 12:00pm Tuesday as our rain with this storm is expected to begin as ice in the morning hours.
This is where "Boreus" will be tomorrow, 13 deaths are already blamed on this storm's icy roads, high winds and heavy rainfall.

This storm will be here Tuesday and I guess it depends on the timing,right now this is the predictions.

G-son might get some extra Thanksgiving day's off from school. Hopefully the high for Tuesday will hold up so I can get all the cake orders to my customers.
It is 22 degrees tonight as I write this at 10:00,brrr.
Thankful tonight for answered prayers concerning son's house hunt.
Good Night and God Bless.