RAINY SLOW MARKET SATURDAY

At least the rain held off through morning chores and until we got things set up at market and then the skies opened up and it poured for a while. Hubbie waited in the market until it slacked up so he could stop by the feed store for chicken feed and bird seed.
Thankfully it only rained very hard for about 30 minutes or that would have been a sure flood.
Market was very slow as I had expected and I crocheted towel tops on 4 towels while I waited for 2:00 to get there. I'm thankful for what I did sell as a few people came in especially for caramel cakes for birthdays and  a few other things.
I sat up some Valentines decoration and finally remembered to take a Christmas wall hanging down.
After market I headed straight home and hubbie helped me unload before we relaxed on a rainy afternoon.We watched a Duke/ Florida State b-ball game in which FSU won on a last second shot.
The rain stopped just before chore time and when I checked the rain gauge there was about an inch in there. The temperature has been around 50 all day but this evening it is getting cooler fast with the cold front moving through. Rain is supposed to be back tomorrow afternoon after a cold start to the day.

This is an interesting cloud formation.

Hubbie and I were invited to a church staff dinner tonight but decided not to go as I have been feeling so up and down with my stomach the past few days I really didn't feel like going out into a crowd and having a late dinner.
Daughter called and said both her youth basketball teams won their games today. She was going home to fix dinner for her b-friend.
I re-arranged some of my make-up and toiletries on my bathroom shelves tonight. I need to do something different in there but I can't decide what. I need more storage space !!
I did accomplish a lipstick organization which should help greatly. Usually I wind up wearing the same color lipstick because my collection of lipstick colors were all jumbled together and it took to long to find the color I wanted,not to mention the color name is printed so small I can't read it.With the help of a magnifying glass I separated all the colors and used index cards to group the colors. Now I just can't find a place to store them !!
This has been a nice relaxing evening .
God has been so good to me and I am prayerfully grateful each and everyday. May all the Glory be to Him.
Good Night and God Bless.

ANOTHER DEEP CLEANING DAY AND MORE RAIN

Cloudy skies where here again this morning as I walked after finishing the morning chores. The temperature was still in the low 30's and with all these clouds it makes for a raw day outside.
I spent the morning re-potting some Aloe plant that got too big for the pot it was in and re-potting a Spider plant so it will hang in front of the window instead of sitting on the shelf. I also baked 3 cakes for market tomorrow. I expect it to really be a slow day as the hard rain is predicted to fall in the morning during market time.
After picking up g-son we had lunch at home and he played while I cleaned more cabinets. I finished the kitchen, the hall closet and part of the bathroom cabinets before hubbie got home from work and I headed outside to do the evening chores.
#1 son came to pick up g-son just before the rains began .
Hubbie and I had supper and then did our exercises to make up for not doing them last night. I only have a couple cakes to ice tonight so this Friday night is not a regular one.
Daughter brought her baking by tonight as she has an early b-ball game in the morning. She had a bad baking night like I had last week as one of her Apply/walnut cakes fell apart when she took it out of the pan. So we will have that for dessert for Sunday.
I'm hoping to finish my cleaning chores early next week as I am getting bored with that task and need to move on to something at least different !!!
My shoulder is not hurting at all today after sleeping on a heating pad last night so maybe it was just a catch instead of a pulled muscle.
Grateful for God for a day filled with blessings.
Good Night and God Bless.

JANUARY 1972 STARTED OUT SADLY

Today has been one of those days for me that leaves me scratching my head about things.
Before the alarm sounded this morning I was up feeling like I had an upset stomach. I turned off the alarm in hopes that a little more sleep would help. When I awoke about an hour later my stomach was fine but that shoulder muscle that has been giving me trouble had decided to declare war on me. I couldn't even get a deep breath it was so painful.
I dragged myself through chores and ate breakfast before getting out the heating pad for awhile.
About 30 minutes of intense heat helped enough that I went walking on this nice sunny but cool day. The 35 degree temperature is normal for us in January.
I came back inside and cleaned a little more in the kitchen without any climbing and reaching !
After lunch I went into town to run weekly errands and make an Avon delivery to a friend of mine. We had a nice visit but my shoulder began throbbing again so I headed home and back to the heating pad.
I did chores and watched another beautiful sunset this evening.

Another front is moving through the area creating clouds and color.
To top the day off as I watched the news tonight my stomach ache flared up again out of the blue and I felt I was really going to get sick. With no supper and a couple hours flat on my back the sickness went away again. I have no idea what is going on with that ????
I've had a really layed back evening of watching b-ball games, first Duke/ Wake which Duke won handily and then UNC/ Virginia Tech which UNC won pretty handily also. At least something went right today.
My shoulder feels a little better tonight and I'm shortly going to give it a good soak in a hot tub.
But first I wanted to get some decade pictures on here.
I found nothing in January of 1962 but January of 1972 was a sad month with the death of my mom's closest Sister. My Aunt Gertie Mae had a stroke right after Christmas and died on Dec. 30 and was buried on January 1,1972.

She was a good aunt but tried to mother me some of the time with advice about boys. She always wanted a daughter of her own but had 2 boys. Our 2 families always got together at one or the other's house every Sunday afternoon so I felt like I had 2 mothers.She was a chain smoker and always had a cigarette balanced on her lower lip which I never figured out why it didn't fall out.

Back in those days everyone sent flowers.
One of my other cousins made a tribute to aunt Gertie Mae who was an avid quilter.

The little poem on this collage tells of the love she had for all.
It says ...........    THOUGH IT MAY BE FADED AND WORN, TIME CANNOT DIM THE BEAUTY OF A QUILT______OR THE LOVE IN THE HEART OF THE MAKER !!
RIP Aunt Gertie and know that you were loved and I still miss you even after 40 years !

The other main thing in my life in January 1972 was basketball. This was my senior year, I was captain of the team and a fairly good player. This is a newspaper clipping of me and some of the other stand out players that season.

God is good all the time and I'm glad I can leave all my troubles with Him and go to bed and dream sweet dreams.
Good Night and God Bless.

DOLLY GETS A NEW DOO

This was a much nicer sky picture this morning at chore time but it sure was colder than it has been. There was 1/2" of rain in the gauge from last night but not a cloud in the sky this morning however it is 35 and won't get much higher all day,brrr.
I took a short walk this morning but the wind started blowing and I decided to come in and warm up.
I took Dolly to the groomer on my way to pick up g-son from pre-school.

He was the last to leave and put all the toys away without being asked. His teachers were very pleased.
We came home for lunch then he played while I worked on the high shelves in my kitchen getting things all cleaned and dusted.
Years ago hubbie made me this shelf to hold my old bottle collection.

Most of these old bottles came from the basement of my mom and dad's old house. My mother kept every glass jar she ever bought anything in. When I asked her about the pile of glass jars once she said after going through the depression she couldn't bare to throw these useful jars and bottles away for fear they might be needed again. I have old glass coke bottles made in almost every coke plant in the country including the one that used to be right here in town,
I also have some newer collectibles on top of my china cabinet.

Some of these things are used and that photo is a newspaper photo about our cattle several years ago as they looked out over our frozen farm pond.
#1 son came after g-son just before the groomer called for me to pick up Dolly.
This is how she looked this morning as we were leaving.

And this is what she looks like now after the grooming, she's a new dog !!!

Bless her heart she has just slept most of the evening as if relieved to have this day over with.
Hubbie and I groom both Dolly and Bernie ourselves most of the time but from time to time I take her to get a professional job because of the course hair and some places I just can't get to. Plus we just can't afford too many $41 haircuts at our house !!!!
Hubbie and I had our weekly supper of  fresh Kale greens tonight with a baked potato also stored from our garden.
After our nightly exercise I spent the evening buried in weekly paperwork and bill paying.
It is a cold night with temps expected to be low 20's with wind .
We have a fire upstairs and downstairs tonight and it is still cool in the house so the nice warm bed covers are going to feel good tonight.
I vacuumed the floors today along with another day of up and down on my ladder so my back and legs will be extra glad to snuggle down in bed for a nice winter's nap.
Grateful to God tonight for the blessings of the day and for His endless love for all.
Good Night and God Bless.

ANOTHER JANUARY THUNDER STORM

Got an early wake up nudge from Dolly this morning as she needed to potty earlier than usual. I was afraid she might be sick but she has had no other signs so she just needed to go a little early I guess.
After chores and breakfast I took my morning walk in this nice warm but very cloudy morning. This was the only blue sky I could find as I walked around the drive and garden so I could head back inside if the rain started.

I spent the morning doing laundry and housework before it was time to pick up g-son from pre-school.
By now it was misting rain so we came straight home and had lunch. He had Ramen noodles today and I had vegetable soup.
I continued my house work Tuesday while he played and watched TV. I went outside to shake out rugs and couldn't believe how warm it was under the still cloudy skies.
I finished my regular cleaning and then did the deep cleaning in my sunroom. I took all the Blue Willow dishes down off the walls and dusted them. My legs are sore tonight from climbing my little ladder over and over again but everything out there is clean.

#1 son came after g-son just before the rain started this evening. I  finished chores just before the skies opened up. Thunder and lightening again lit up the skies with the warm temperature.
Today's temperature is more than 10 degrees above normal.But look at that 1943 high for today,wow !

 And tomorrow we are going back to winter with highs only in the low 40's.

Colder, warmer, colder, warmer that has been the seesaw effect for the month of January !!
After supper and exercise tonight hubbie and I relaxed and listened to the pouring rain outside and watched the lightening streaking across the night sky.
Not a typical way to spend a January night !!??
Thankful to God tonight for His blessings of the day.
Good Night and God Bless.

MOUNTAIN LOGGING OPERATION A SAD SIGHT

G-son was here early this morning. School is closed today for Martin Luther King Day so he was happily enjoying the waffles,chocolate milk and Sesame Street show when I got back in from doing chores. It is a cold 33 degrees with all the clouds.
Hubbie and I made shopping list for Sam's and Ingles and went out for an early lunch then shopped. G-son was ill tempered from watching a movie last night and getting in bed late so we thought he might take a nap while we drove up to have a look at the logging operation on my cousin's mountain property.
This 100 acre piece of land is the last in the large tract that was my dad's family's home place. My cousin lives in Virginia and so do all her kids so she decided to have the mountain property logged and then sell it. I will hate to see it leave our family but she is quite a bit older than me and can't make the trip down here like she used to do to keep up with the property.
The land incompasses virtually the entire side and top of this mountain, there are some very steep solid rock cliffs on part of it. My dad made a logging road into it years ago before he died but it grew up when no one else had access to the land.
The logging company cut this huge road into their loading landing about 1/2 way up the side of the mountain.

The tractor trailers that carry the logs out have been passing on the road by our house and I have seen some huge logs go out of here.

This machine was working piling logs to wait for the trucks return. We couldn't see anything else working, but the dense forest of laurels and smaller trees is so thick it was impossible to see through it.

I wonder if they are only cutting the bigger trees or if they are going to clear cut the whole mountain ?
I couldn't believe it still looked like this after all the loads of logs that have passed down the road.

G-son didn't take a nap only complained all the way home because we took the long way home !!
It is still 43 degrees at 1:30 when we got home so hubbie decided to postpone his outside work and I decided to work in the kitchen instead of the unheated sunroom.
I went through all my cabinets and threw out a bunch of out dated things. I need to stay more organized so the oldest items get used first. It's all organized nicely now so we'll see how long they stay that way.
In this cabinet is our main foods, soups, veges, meats,pasta,etc.

This one holds our drinks, teas, coffees, hot cocoas, dessert mixes and fruits.

And in this one I put all our snacks, crackers and breakfast foods in.

And lastly if there is a spice ,an herb or a flavoring I don't have in this baby I don't need it !!!!

Not to mention another spice rotating rack I have beside the stove top full of spices !!
This was an afternoon's work with 2 Avon boxes of throw aways.
#1 son came after g-son a little early today as he finished work early today.
It is still a cloudy cool day at evening chore time.  When I got back inside I snuggled up with my 4-legged kids and got warm while I watched the news.
Another crazy turn in our winter weather will come next week when it gets in the mid 60's for several days. Son said the apple farmers he works with are all getting concerned with all the warm temperatures and still 2 months of winter to go !!
I know the warm temperatures just make a day like today that would be a normally feeling winter day feel exceptionally cold so I'm sure the trees and plants are confused.
The air outside today felt like it was going to snow but that's not in the forecast for our area.
After a salad supper hubbie and I spent 30 minutes exercising before relaxing for the evening.

 With the continued craziness of the weather it is still 41 degrees at midnight.
I'm glad God is in control and knows the whys of everything that happens. I will trust Him with it !!
Good Night and God Bless.

PEACEFUL, QUIET SUNDAY

A very nice Sunday with sunny skies and mid 30's temperatures to start the day. I always chuckle at chore time on Sunday's as I'm in my PJ's,haha.. It's true in warmer weather I'm out there in all my glory in just PJ's but these days I have my insulated cover-alls over them. Either way I always hope no one happens to come visiting during this time !!
As I got ready for church I kept thinking how wonderful it is to have the opportunity to meet with my church family to worship God together.
There is still an upheaval going on within our congregation but I have pretty successfully turned it over to God and I hope everyone else will do the same.
Daughter dropped off some stew beef one of her girl friends made for her housewarming Friday night and I put it in the crockpot to warm up for lunch.
It was great to see d-in-love in church this morning. Since she took the church job she is taking Sunday off. We had an 80 year old man get Baptized today !!! Glory be to God.
So everyone made it to lunch to enjoy the stew and french bread slices to go with it.
After lunch we all sat in the living room and had a nice visit before each one went their separate ways.
I spent some time on the computer looking up my vintage crystal and had success with several things. It always amazes me at what you can find on e-bay.
The pitcher set that hubbie's mom purchased in honor of his birth in 1955 was the first I found.

This set was made by a company called Bartlett Collins and was made between 1947 and 1949.  I found some of the same glasses on e-bay but could never find a pitcher like this one. The set of 4 glasses were priced at $25.

I also found the old pitcher and the 1 glass set that I got from my mom's house on e-bay.

This was Anchor Hocking Star pattern and was also believed to be made in the late 40's, early 50's. The one I found on e-bay was priced at $12.

It was fun looking through the old glass things and seeing what was worth more than others. I also found several other things I have but that would make a post toooooooo long so that will be another day or several days actually !!!
So far I've found that sentimental value is way more than monetary value but that's good as I won't be tempted to sell any of  the kids inheritance,hahahaha.
After chores this evening and a salad supper hubbie and I  got back to our exercise routine after taking a 2 day break. My hips and knees feel stronger already with the exercise and with my careful diet I'm hoping by the first of February I will see a difference on the scales.
It is a colder night tonight than last as it is already 27 degrees at 11:30.
Grateful to God for the wonderful family and all the blessings of the day.
Good night and God Bless.