HIGHS IN THE 60'S,FALL IS DEFINITELY IN THE AIR

OHHHHH!!!! So cool this morning again,feels so good after the last several months of above average temperatures, so now we are below average, but I'm sure not complaining!
Took a long refreshing walk after chores and breakfast this morning.
Heavy dew covered everything.
As I came back up around the garden I noticed the pears are ready to be picked.
Hubbie went through the tomatoes last night and found a bucket full that the rain had caused to burst so the chickens are enjoying them this morning.
I came inside to ice 6 more caramel cakes and start the housework for today which is cleaning all the floors and porches.
The day has stayed cloudy and the temperature hovered around 68 again today.
At least a breeze blew for a while and dried my towels that were still hanging out from yesterday.
I got a little start on my fall decorations this afternoon.The fall welcoming committee takes their seats on the front porch.

I filled all my old wagon wheel hubs with fall colors.
Before I got this job finished it was time to go over to daughter's house to wait for the flooring estimator. He is supposed to be there between 5 and 7.
I forgot the keys to her house and had to turn around and come back,luckily I wasn't too far out the road and was only a couple minutes after 5 getting there.
I took my laptop and my Verizon mifi card but got no service with it at her house.
We've talked to some people that live around there and they say Verizon service stinks over there. So their advertisement might be questionable where they say their service is everywhere. We have found 1 place to stand to call on our cell phones from there.
Hubbie came over there to relieve me and to do some painting while he waited on the floor guy so I came home to do chores and do some office work.
Finished August totals tonight and they are really down from years past but I am very thankful for what I did make.
Did weekly paperwork and payed bills while I was all alone and quiet.
Daughter came in from her volleyball game ,they won again and have another game tomorrow. She baked a few cakes and I baked a chocolate pound cake for a special order that came in today.
I have several orders for tomorrow thankfully because the week after a holiday is always super slow.
Hubbie finally made it home around 9:30,the guy Home Depot sent to measure for the flooring had just finished. Hubbie thinks he made several mistakes and it definitely should not have taken a professional 3 hours to figure out how much square footage was in the rooms. Home Depot is supposed to call daughter tomorrow with the estimate. Luckily she and I measured the rooms last weekend and know what the measurements should be.
Iced chocolate and coconut cakes tonight and labeled everything else.
God is an awesome God and loves us in awesome ways.
Good Night and God Bless.

COOL DAY AND SCHOOL PICS FROM '61 AND '71

Wow,the coolness of the morning air feels great today. The clouds are still hanging around but for the most part Tropical storm Lee is history around here. We got another inch of rain over night,for a total of about 2 inches . Other places got as much as 10+ inches in the 48 hour period,thankful that wasn't us !
After chores I took a short walk around the garden and barns this morning enjoying the cool morning.
I need to do so much today I don't know where to start, so I'll just dive in and hope for the best.
I finished baking my pound and wine cakes while putting an Avon order online and gathering laundry.
I iced 6 caramel cakes before lunch.
#1 son brought g-son by as it is dry enough to pick apples again so he went to work and mom is filling in for someone who is sick at her dad's restaurant.
After lunch I started laundry and housecleaning while g-son followed to help with each task. He is getting big enough to actually help with some things.
We hung out a load of towels but they will probably have to hang over night because the sun has never came out for very long this afternoon.
D-in-love came to pick him up around 3 and I finished cleaning just before Hubbie got in from work.
We watched the news and had an all vegie supper again before chores.
I had to get a jacket for this evening's outside work for the first time since early last spring. The temperature stayed in the high 60's all day.


I just hope this weather holds, this is my favorite temperatures !!

Decade pics for September are more plentiful than for August at least as school pictures were made in September.This is me in 2nd grade in 1961.

10 years later and my senior picture made in September 1971.

Hubbie and I both are pretty beat tonight so we decided not to go to daughter's house and do anything else tonight.
Daughter had a volleyball game tonight and came in and did some baking.
I iced 6 more caramel cakes tonight.
Got everything on today's list done except getting out my fall decorations,maybe tomorrow !!
Grateful to God for the blessings of today.
Good Night and God Bless.

LABOR DAY FILLED WITH LABOROUS PAINTING

HAPPY LABOR DAY !!!!!

G-son was here early today and he and Hubbie were eating chocolate cake for breakfast dessert when I got up. (he had eaten waffles before)
It has rained a little over night but this morning is only cloudy and just finished the feeding chores when the rain began falling heavily.
We needed to pick up some more ceiling paint so off we went to the paint store up town,right in the middle of the apple festival booths. Each year I cannot believe the city does this to this business. They set up food vendors in their parking lot leaving them only 2 spaces for their customers. But they must do enough business to warrant fighting the traffic year after year.
After we got the paint we stopped at Belk's as Hubbie needed some new dress pants. G-son behaved himself very well even while I tried on a couple things.
We also found some new bed pillows at 50% off so our trip was doubly successful.
By now it was pouring rain so we got home and ate lunch,#1 son came in from work, you can't pick apples in the rain so he and g-son went home.
Daughter, Hubbie , #2 son and I headed over to her house for an afternoon of painting.We picked up paint samples so daughter could compare floor samples and wall colors.
I had already warned her this is one of the hardest parts of remodeling.

She and I covered the walls in the living room and dining room with primer to cover all the nastiness on the walls.

Hubbie patched all the nail and other holes in the walls before they get primed. I'll be glad when this lime green wall is covered.

Luckily for daughter very tall #2 son finished most of her ceilings for her today. He will be sore tomorrow for sure.
We worked all afternoon until 6:30 while it rained off and on all day.At times it rained so hard it almost whited out the distant mountains .

I can't wait until the leaves turn their bright fall colors in this view from daughter's front porch.
We did evening chores in the pouring rain when we got home and then had yesterday's leftovers for supper.
I have paint spots all over me as evidence to how hard I worked today. But it was well worth it as we got a lot done. The ceiling is finished in the 2 extra bedrooms,the living room,dining room,kitchen,laundry room,hallways and closets. The walls are primed and ready for paint in the living room ,dining room and 1 hall way.
The decision has been made on paint colors,laminate flooring and carpet. Home Depot is sending a man Wednesday to measure for a final estimate.
Even in the rain the Apple Festival Labor Day parade went on as scheduled.Under umbrellas, ponchos and some floats had obviously quickly constructed roofs over them the parade can add another year to its record of going on rain or shine.These photos were from the local media website,as I did not stand in the rain to see a parade !!
When I checked the rain gauge after chores this evening it only had a little more than an inch in it and the temperature has hovered around 70 all day making for a cool,damp day. But one that was dearly needed !!!! Thank you Lord, you could almost hear the dry soil slurping up the welcome cool drink.
After I took a short rest break I baked 46 cake layers before I ran out of energy and am ready to fall into bed but first I need to scrub this paint off me !!
Thanking God for the blessing of a wonderful family and a healthy body and mind.
Good Night and God Bless.

FLOORING SHOPPING

Up and out to chores before church this morning. The clouds from tropical storm Lee are here already but no rain yet.
Had a good church service this morning and a good BBQ lunch afterward. Daughter,#1 son and g-son were here. #2 son is golfing and d-in-love is working.
After lunch daughter and I headed over to Lumber Liquidators ,Lowes and Home Depot to check out flooring for her house. Hubbie had a Deacon's meeting that he knew would take most of the afternoon.
So far Home Depot won the price war with a total house laminate installation price of $397 and$37 total carpet installation. Now she just has to pick the color and type she wants.
We took the samples over tonight and layed them on the floor. Home depot is sending a man to measure and give us a final price Wednesday.
When we got home tonight I had to put my feet up to stop the throbbing in my legs. I'm not used to all this standing on concrete floors.
Watching the weather tonight doesn't look like we'll be doing anything outside tomorrow. No rain is falling yet at 10:30 tonight but we are already under a flash flood watch.
The rainfall amount predictions vary with each weather person you listen to,but they all agree we are going to get a generous dousing. I just hope it comes at a moderate pace so the parched ground will have the opportunity to soak up most of it.
There were places in Louisiana that got 15 inches of rain as this storm came ashore.
Our rain is suppose to begin around midnight.
Off tonight to give doggie baths before I get mine. I'll sleep well again tonight ! That's one advantage to all this extra activity , I fall into bed and right to sleep at night.
Hope everyone has a glorious Labor Day tomorrow.
God is ever loving and caring !
Good Night and God Bless.

BUSY APPLE FESTIVAL SATURDAY

UHHHHH!!!!!!! Early alarm bells just ruin my morning !!!! But we knew if we didn't get to market early on this Saturday we would have to carry cakes a long way.
Hurried through chores and got the last of my cakes wrapped and away we went almost 1 1/2 hours earlier than usual. No trouble finding a parking spot near the door at this time of morning.
I'm not as sore as I thought I would be after all the work yesterday. Finally got my leg to stop hurting last night and have no signs of bites this morning,thank goodness !!!
Daughter got to market about an hour after we did with more of her cakes.
Hubbie bought corn and beans for our lunch tomorrow and headed for home. He is going to get started on the wall prep for painting at daughters today.
Daughter went up to the Apple festival early to get us this years t-shirts and she said it was just beginning to get crowded. Front left chest.
Large picture on back.
The only thing I don't like about this years shirt is there is no date. I don't know if this was a mistake or what,but years down the road I'm not going to know that the 65th year was 2011 !!
I will stitch the year on the mine.
We had a very busy day at market,I only have 1/2 of a blackberry wine cake left. There were a lot of people in the market all day and they were buying.Caught in a moment of deep concentration !!
It was a hot day 88 again and even hotter on the streets among the huge crowd.This is not my idea of fun,I say every year that someone needs to figure out a way to spread this thing out so you can at least get to the booths.Russ a friend of ours stirs his apple slushies. I had one of these today and it was delicious.
Hot weather caused more varieties to ripen early this year so the selection was very good .I was glad to get back out in the country this afternoon where the peace and quite felt sooooo good.
After a short break at home and checking on all the critters I headed over to help daughter and hubbie paint.
Hubbie had patched all the small holes in the sheet rock walls and was painting one of the extra bedroom ceilings. Daughter and I measured all the rooms so we can get an idea of flooring cost so she can decide what to go with.
She had a dinner invitation from some nearby neighbors and Hubbie and I came home to rest.
We ate supper and crashed. I feel like I could go to bed at 6:00 but I know if I did I would wake up about midnight and stay awake all night.
We made potato salad and slaw for lunch tomorrow to go with BBQ we have.
I was just thinking I should have bought stuff to make ice cream, the summers almost gone and we've only had homemade ice cream once,bummer !!!
A tropical storm formed yesterday in the gulf and is slated to drench us with flooding rains this coming week.From the looks of these maps this may be a very interesting week.Couple with a cold front heading this way along with 6-10" of rain and 25 mph winds the temperature will be 20 degrees cooler starting Monday.
Tiredness has got the best of me at 10:30 tonight and I'm headed to bath and bed.
Thanking God for the blessings of today.
Good Night and God Bless.

GETTING THE STINK OUT OF DAUGHTER'S NEW HOUSE

Woke up with a sore arm and knee,have no idea what I did to make them this way.
After chores I went for my walk. It is going to be another hot day I can already tell from the amount I am sweating this morning !
Hubbie took the day off work to get started on daughter's house. After I got back from my walk we headed up to church to clean. We did it all this morning so we won't have to come back this evening.
After lunch we went over to her house and started pulling the nasty carpet and padding out. Surprisingly it wasn't as bad as we thought it might be. The dog pee and other spills on the carpet hadn't penetrated the sub-flooring.We did decide that a vacuum had never touched this carpet. How anyone could live with such filth is beyond me. I can't imagine kids in this nastiness.
Anyway just as we got there the storm clouds looked ominous over toward our house so I drove home to check on our open windows. We had shut the house windows and turned the air conditioning back on with a predicted record breaking hot day but left he sunroom windows all open.
When I got here it had rained and had blown in some ,so I shut the windows and dried the floor. I checked the rain gauge and it had 6/10ths of an inch in it. Thank you Lord we needed that !!
However I know some folks who did not need rain today......
This is the booth of some friends of ours during the downpour as they try to keep things dry.
#2 son who was delivering mail in town this afternoon said it poured the rain for about 20 minutes,clearing the streets and making it a soggy start to the festival. The news said tonight that some of the display tents blew down in the windy rain storm and they had to close,hopefully they can come back tomorrow.

Pictures from earlier in the day from our newspaper sight showed that there was a nice crowd.
There is an abundance of apples ripe this year.
Now back to our afternoon of carpet removal !! Hubbie and I worked for almost 3 hours and had all the carpet and pad out of the house and most of the smell went with it thankfully. The power was already on so we did have air conditioning but we had to leave the doors and windows open , so it was a hot job.
Daughter and #2 son came to help after they got off from work and we got all the staples out of the floor and a couple other small jobs that can be marked off the list. It was a very productive day as all the floors are bare ,the interior doors are down,the smoke detectors have new batteries and the crack in the ceiling is puttied.
I am so tired tonight my legs are cramping as I sit here typing. I am sure I worked out this morning's soreness only to replace it with much more soreness for in the morning.
Daughter baked and I iced chocolate and coconut cakes tonight. Daughter left on a dog sitting job so hubbie and I loaded the van tonight so we can get an early start in the morning before the crowds descend on the parking lot and fill all the spaces. I have decided if I don't have a very good day tomorrow,next year I will take this Saturday off and stay home out of the crowd.
Very tired but thankful tonight for a strong body and a welcome drink for the garden and flowers today.
Good Night and God Bless.

FINALLY DAUGHTER GETS TO CLOSE ON HER HOUSE

The "view from here" picture for September shows a hot humid hazy afternoon.Things are still green even with little rain as we begin this month.

A hurry up morning got me to market on time only to find the parking lot almost empty !!
I got set up with help from a couple neighbors helping carry things in for me.
Today was slow but with the big weekend coming up and the return of summer time heat it was to be expected.
Ahhhhh!!!! "The good ole summer time" !!!!
I left market and ran my regular errands ,then treated myself to a shopping trip to Belk's to their 80% off sale. I always hit this sale and today I found some really good deals. Not that I needed anything but I bought over $500 worth of things for less than $100,who can turn down deals like that !!! Now I'm set for next summer and only need to have a closet cleaning.
Yea!!! Yea !!!!! Yea !!!!! Finally !!!! While I was in the dressing room at Belk I got a call from daughter saying she was now a home owner.
With a 4:00 closing time today,this morning things started to unravel again with changes needed in the paperwork. Evidently the para-legal that was handling the paperwork was not very good at dealing with government agencies. But finally a little after 3:00 the call came through that everything was in order. The actual closing time was a record 11 minutes because so much paperwork had already been done.
She called tonight and they will turn the power on tomorrow for her and the work will begin !!!
Hubbie was already home when I got here and we got unloaded and then had a salad for supper.
I did the evening chores while Hubbie mowed the lawn.It is suppose to rain late this weekend so he didn't want it to get a growth spurt before he mowed.
I found our first figs from the tree near the garden.We've never gotten any before because the ants always beat us to them. But this year with the tree really loaded down with fruit I have been spreading Spectracide underneath the branches and around the trunk to discourage the ants and so far it's working.
Again tonight I tried to sit outside but the mosquitoes found me quickly and with the prayerful thoughts of the family in the county that lost a 8 year old daughter to encephalitis and have a 4 year old son in the the intensive care unit at Mission hospital suffering from the same thing I wasn't about to let them feast on me !!
It is hard to believe that this brother and sister both came down with this sickness at the same time and although the results are not final that was the diagnosis. SO,so sad, please pray for this family that lives in the Etowah community.

Daughter came in from the volleyball game happy about her house.
I baked 14 layers ,3 pound cakes and 2 wine cakes tonight. I dread Saturday, town will be so crowded and the roads will be dangerous.
Our county roads can't hold the usual traffic and when a festival the size of the Apple Festival comes to town it is utter chaos.
Thanking God for the blessings of today and praying for comfort for the family of the 8 year old girl.
Good Night and God Bless.