FLEA MARKET TRIP

This is going to be short tonight because I am so tireeed!!!!!
Early,early this morning we picked up g-son in his pj's and off hubbie,I and daughter went to South Carolina to the Pickens Flea Market. This is my favorite flea market,it is one that hasn't gone mostly commercial. Due to the heat in SC this market starts at 4 am (we definitely were not that early!),and the sellers are mostly all gone by 12 noon.
We arrived in a car line snaking slowly to get into the market,luckily since hubbie and I have been going to this market for years we knew where there is a field on the other side of a large creek that runs around the market to park and walk across a narrow bridge to get in. Today there was a lot of regulars that knew what we knew and we ended up parked on the side of the road leading to the field.This is a very large market and it is very hard to get around to everything before people start to pack up. Some of it is under sheds and some is not.As I watched g-son walk through the market spotting spiderman,turtle power, and spongebob figurines he wanted under the watchful eye of aunt T I thought back at how it doesn't seem long ago at all that he was riding on Pawpaw's shoulders through the market.My how time flies!!!Have no idea what he has spotted here,he is a picky shopper,even turning down several gifts from some of the vendors. He's always been a boy who likes what he likes and doesn't care for other things.
We had a great time at the market and actually didn't leave until after 12:30. We headed downtown Pickens to eat lunch at McDonalds and he played in the playground until he got so tired,he was looking for excuses to cry about!
He slept all the way home and in a much better mood went back to town with aunt T to look for a table that she didn't find today.
Hubbie and I planted our potatoes this evening,we plant 10 lbs of early red pontiacs and 50 lbs of kennebecs.We ended up with 3 rows of potatoes.After that was finished it was late again so we only had a salad for supper.
Then we picked a place to plant 2 peach trees we bought today and he planted them while I came inside to pay bills and do weekly paperwork. Daughter did her baking after she put her new table together.
Then I had cakes to ice and wrap and label. Finished everything about 11:15 and started this.
I did not sleep good at all last night and at times today I would have given anything for a nap but that didn't happen ,that is why I am so tired tonight.
Thanking God for our safe trip today and all the joys He sent my way today.
Good Night and God Bless.

TRYING TO SAVE THE TREES!!

Housework Tuesday rolls around again,this is the first Tuesday in the month and extra stuff is done today,which means extra laundry,yuck!!
Daughter cleaned last night until the wee hours in her place and is relaxing this morning.
After she got back from having her hair cut and it was almost 3:00 and I wasn't finished,she helped so we could make a trip to Lowe's in the big truck.
#2 son is working in his yard and is going to go with us to lend us his muscle for loading the patio stones we are going after.
I drove the truck to Lowe's but after I got parked in their crowded parking lot I let him take over to get us out of there.
Daughter or I didn't find what we were looking for there so we went to Home Depot.It's amazing how much less crowded it was there and for what we bought their prices were cheaper than Lowe's,go figure!!
I still didn't find the Riverwalk stones I was looking for,I don't think they make them anymore so I will have to decide on something else,but I need to look around a bit more.
I bought some foundation plants and potting soil,some trellis work for a climbing flower I got.
We made it home right before hubbie got home from work and were unloading daughters stones. #2 son helped her with her little patio while hubbie helped me with my plants.Here they are before we got them in the ground,I hope they grow fast!
I am very worried about 2 trees in my yard that didn't fair so well after this winter. My Magnolia and my Holly trees are not looking great. I put out a whole bag of Hollytone under them hoping that will give them the correct soil balance they need.As you can see the holly looks really bad,I really don't want to cut out the brown,these are fairly large older trees and I would hate to loose either of them. My thinking is that all the snow we had put too much nitrogen in the ground and since these are acid loving trees maybe the hollytone,which has a high volume of potash in it will save them. The magnolia did this several years ago and I put ashes from the wood stove around it and it bounced back.Maybe I'll try that this time also. I would welcome any suggestions.
We worked outside until almost 8:00 tonight and then were starving,we need to break that habit!
I baked my layers for my cakes tonight. It is midnight and I'm waiting on the chocolates to come out of the oven.
God is so good to me,it never ceases to amaze me and I love Him for it.
Good Night and God Bless.

DELAYED EASTER EGG HUNT

2 new visitors at the feeder this morning,well they may not be new,but are newly photographed. These are little Chirping Sparrows,I'm still amazed at how now there seems to always be 2 of every kind. Nice day starting out,g-son was here early but daughter is off for spring break so she took charge of him until it was time for her insurance appointment.
We walked around outside enjoying this summer like weather,I noticed my tulips have finally burst into bloom.
When daughter got back she brought supplies for g-son to have a delayed Easter. She had eggs to dye and plastic ones to fill with candy and surprises. I helped her set up and the smell of the vinegar and water dye sure brought back memories for me of when daughter and the boys were young and our every Easter ritual. We never missed an Easter,we always dyed,hid,hunted and ate eggs,no plastic eggs for us. We had our own hens and some of them were the ones that naturally layed blue eggs.
We took the dyeing activity outside since it was so nice and g-son could really get into it.
He got so excited when the eggs came out colored after they went in white. Boy aunt T sure is a special aunt!
While the real eggs boiled aunt T filled all 43 plastic eggs with candy and surprises so after the dying was finished ,it was egg hiding time. G-son sat with me and excitedly tried to not look as aunt T hid all the eggs. Our basket was overflowing so we gave him a bucket to hunt the eggs in so he wouldn't loose any he already found.There were eggs in trees,in the grass,in the flowers,everywhere!!Many times curiosity got the best of him and he had to stop and open the eggs to see what was inside! Then before he would continue, that egg had to be put back together, so the 'prises wouldn't get lost!!
And finally when he thought he had found them everyone,it was time to count and make sure no goodies where left behind. Then re-counted by g-son just to make sure!!
I believe g-son had more stickers on him than he put on the eggs. What a fun afternoon!! So much fun in fact that it deserves a long much deserved nap for both egg hider and hunter.
While they napped storm clouds rolled in but it didn't rain here,but by the sound of the distant thunder someone got a storm this afternoon.
After g-son left and hubbie got home we worked on expanding the patio out back.
I got a count of what I need to buy,so tomorrow after housecleaning it will be a trip back to Lowe's.
As I blog tonight I'm watching the championship game between Duke and Butler. It is one of the best games I have ever seen and came right down to the wire,with a Duke win.I'm not a fan of either,I just like to watch college basketball and this is the last game until next winter.
Thanking God for a wonderful day full of blessings.
Good Night and God Bless.

EASTER SUNDAY

FIFTY-FIFTH SUNRISE SERVICE AT CHIMNEY ROCK STATE PARK!



THANK YOU JESUS!

TURTLE SOUP ANYONE???

Had a good market day today,saw a lot of friends I hadn't seen since last fall. It was nice to catch up with everyone.
Ran errands afterwards and came home to yardwork with hubbie. We mulched a steep bank below the sunroom ,it was dangerous to get a mower on. We hauled large rocks out of the field where #1 son had piled them and put them in the mulch to keep the dogs from scratching around in it.
On my walk this evening I spotted this huge,what my dad would call, washtub size turtle in our farm pond.Turtle soup anyone?????? This guy would make a large pot full I would think.
When I was growing up we had a neighbor who trapped turtles from our ponds to eat. I never tasted any but she told me they tasted like chicken,hmmmm, guess I'll just have to wonder !!!!
Nice warm day about 74 degrees and mostly cloudy all day which made it nice.
Tomorrow morning will be a very nice sunrise service morning. This is last years sunrise service atop Chimney Rock.SON!!!!! RISE!!!!

SAD,WONDERFUL GOOD FRIDAY

A significant day in the life of all Christians,the day our Savior gave his life,the ultimate show of love,for our sins,we will be forever grateful and will hold His love forever in our hearts.


Continuing the blooming pics from yesterday,here is a plum tree in our yard,that we have never gotten any fruit off of because it gets froze out every year,how about this year????
The bank on our driveway is covered with periwinkle that we planted there years ago to keep it from washing,it really looks pretty this time of year with a sea of these blue blooms.
Something else I have noticed lately, some of the birds that visited my feeders this winter seemed to be only one of their kind,now every one of these loners has a partner,such as this Brown Thrasher, I only saw 1 all winter,now there are 2. When I first saw them they were jumping up and down at each other out in the grass,but by the time I ran and got the camera they were playing hide and seek in this flower bed. I think love is in the air!!!
As for my day,I baked cakes all morning,I got more orders this morning.
G-son came late morning and we had a mini Easter party,with Sponge Bob eggs filled with stickers and candy,he was a happy boy.
He always pays a visit to his great grandparents house in Tennessee for Easter weekend, he and his mom will be leaving later today. I don't envy them traveling on the detour around I-40 because of the rock slide takes much longer and tonight I'm sure there will be lots of traffic jams. God watch over them!
We played outside,went with Pawpaw to pick up some railroad ties,and layed in the sun with Aunt T for a short while,man is it hot,feels like June not April!
The temperature got up to a summery 84 today,too warm for this time of year I'm afraid.
Hubbie and I finished work at church tonight and I came home and iced my cakes while daughter baked some. We tried to hook up the printer/scanner she brought me, but even with the disc it isn't working. We quit for the night before we break something!!! Some times I wish there wasn't a window right beside this computer!!!!!!!!!!
Sat out in the sunroom tonight and relaxed for a while,it was so nice,like being outside without the bugs!
Good Friday a very sad,very wonderful day!! Thank you Jesus!!
Good Night and God bless.

BEAUTIFUL MAUNDY THURSDAY

CELEBRATE THIS MAUNDY THURSDAY WITH A SERVANTS HEART!

First Thursday market day,I spent mostly cleaning my booth to get ready for the busy season. There were a few customers but this was a typical 1st Thursday even if it was the Thursday before Easter. However I have a fun group of neighbors and we laughed and had a good time as we cleaned.
I had a gazillion errands to run after market,got all of them done except didn't take my printer to see if I could get it fixed,I'm waiting for a man who works with daughter who is giving one away,if it works I'll just get it and toss my old one.
I did get an unbelievable eye opener about my auto insurance. I have had Allstate insurance since I began driving and so has hubbie. Lately daughter has been having trouble with her policy,it keeps going up for no reason,right now she is trying to work with people in town and in 2 other towns to figure out what is going on. So when I got my 6 month bill yesterday and saw that it to had went up significantly I decided to check with Farm Bureau where we have our house,farm and life insurance with. For almost 1/2 the price I can get significantly more coverage with FB,when he quoted me the amount I made him check it again,I couldn't believe there could be that much difference.
We're definitely changing and daughter is going to see him tomorrow.
When I got home after 5, the smell of mowed grass welcomed me as hubbie was mowing.Unbelievable that less than 30 days ago we had a lot of snow on the ground.
Daughter helped me unload the van,then I went outside to enjoy what was left of this nice day,refilled all the bird feeders and enjoyed this 80 degree temperature and the bright colors that are blooming in my yard.
I have my fingers and toes crossed that we won't have a late really cold spell because everything is sure beginning to think and act like winter is over.
We watched Survivor on TV then headed to work at church.
Back home it is going to be a welcome hot bath to get ready for bed tonight.
Hope everyone enjoyed this Lord's Supper Day and remember the example Jesus set before His disciples by washing their feet,that we may all have a servant's heart.
Good Night and God Bless.