WONDERFUL SUNDAY

Getting ready for church this morning I was interrupted by a loud thud on the living room window. I went to investigate this time and found no little attled bird like g-son and I found one morning last week.
G-son came screaming into the kitchen one morning last week saying a little bird was dead on the front porch from trying to fly through the window.
I found this little guy very woozy sitting on the tray of an old antique baby stroller I have on the porch.

This little Downy Woodpecker had knocked herself silly against the window in the early morning haze. G-son had to touch her to make sure she was still alive. She was but I wasn't sure she would be for long, however when I got back from school she had flown away.
I would have posted this on the day it happened but totally forgot about it until I downloaded some photos from my camera today.
After church we had a lunch with only daughter present. #1 son's family went to other parents today and #2 son is golfing on this beautiful 60 degree sunny afternoon.
Hubbie and I decided to go out to the local high school which is less than a mile away and walk the cross country trail.
It was a bit cooler than I expected and in only my shirt I was wishing for a light jacket as a breeze kicked up and cooled the air.
This is a really good trail for walking with twist and turns and up and down hills. It is well kept up by the school and very pretty.
All the little streams had nice wooden bridges built I'm sure by the carpentry class at school.

I loved these old trees along the trail and want to make this a routine thing so I can watch the seasonal changes in these woods.

The trail winds around through these woods and a practice soccer field and heads back up to the football field house.

I forgot a camera today and made these pics with my cell phone. Next time I will surely take my camera for more interesting shots as we heard the chirps of ducks and bull frogs in all the streams that meandered along the trail.
The trail plus a trip around the school buildings made for about a 45 minute walk.
We made it back home in time for hubbie to see the end of the Daytona 500 race on TV so all was good.
#2 son came by after his golfing trip and took a plate of food home for his supper.
I took my 4-legged kids outside and sat in the patio to watch the sun set in a perfectly clear sky.

I noticed the neighbor has added a mule to the pasture across the road with his cattle in hopes that he would keep the coyotes at bay while the cows calve.

The temperature got uncomfortably cool quickly and we headed inside for the evening.
Thankful tonight for the glorious blessings of this beautiful world we live in.
Good Night and God Bless.

SURPRISINGLY BUSY MARKET DAY

Another dreary,foggy,rainy morning.
Market was surprisingly better than I would have thought for this kind of day. I had to laugh when an "out of towner" came through and asked if the sun ever shines around here?
As I catch up on my blog reading between customers and chat with neighbors to make the time pass I said a silent prayer for all the rain that puts much needed moisture in the ground even if we all complain about it !
Hubbie left early to make a stop at Sam's Club on his way home.
After market I made stops at Ace Hardware for some "on sale" birdseed and suet cakes they had and to Harris Teeter to pick up a few groceries. I also went by the library to pick up tax forms but they don't have them any more and said they didn't think anyone carried free forms anymore with the internet access to print your own.  Just made me think about the folks who don't have computers. It is scary to realize how much we do depend on the technology of today and what if it suddenly disappeared ??
My generation is old or young enough to still remember how to do things the old paper way but what about the younger generations??  What will they do if suddenly there is no internet ???
When the internet first came to be I resisted buying a computer until my daughter was a junior in high school and by that time she couldn't do some of her school work without one.
I made the comment then, I thought that was way too much knowledge to put at everyone's fingertips.
I still believe it will play a large part in the ruination of humanity,when? , only God knows the answer to that question.
Well because this has been a boring evening and I tend to think blog post are boring without photo's here is the next weeks weather.

God is always gracious and good and He blesses me each day with undeserved blessings that I do my best to glorify Him for.
Good Night and God Bless

COLD RAINY FRIDAY

After taking g-son to school and finishing morning chores I enjoyed a nice nap on this rainy cool morning snuggled with my 4-legged kids. I am still feeling the lingering effects of the nasty cold I fought off earlier this week.
After lunch I baked 6 caramel cakes before beginning the boring task of gathering figures for tax forms. Although I do taxes on line I like to figure on paper first to make sure I have everything I need before I begin the on-line forms. Both daughter's and #2 son's will change significantly this year so I am going tomorrow to see if I can pick up some free forms instead of having to print them off.
I picked g-son up today as other g-ma had something to do on this Friday afternoon. He looked very handsome today as he had his spring picture made.
His dad came to pick him up early so he could get ready for a fun night at church with all his friends.
The weather has been nasty all day with light rain and cool upper 30's temps. I poured almost an inch of rain from the gauge at choretime.
I am gearing up for a boring time buried in tax figures for the next week as February is tax month for me and I have waited until the last week to get this done. Since the government said they would delay refunds anyway I haven't saw the need to hurry it along.
I iced the caramel cakes and bagged my Avon orders for delivery tomorrow.
I am feeling almost back to normal tonight as I relax in a hot bath before bedtime.
Thankful for today's blessings as I look forward to God's love in my life each night.
Good Night and God Bless.

PHONE COMPANY TROUBLES

After getting g-son to school and doing all the morning chores I was just about to head out the door to run errands in town when the phone repairman called coming my way.
After he checked out the box on the outside and declared a dead short somewhere on the line he left to check the main box out the road. After quite awhile he called to tell me he couldn't fix my problem because he needed a bucket truck to reach the problem line where he had narrowed the short down to. He was calling back into report his findings and have a truck come this way.
I went on into town and got my weekly errands done and got back home before they showed up.
This guy acted as if he didn't know anything about what the guy earlier had found so he checked the box outside the house. This time he said it showed a dead short inside the house. He came in and checked all my phones and computer modem and found no short. When we got back outside the guy that was with him had checked the line between the house and main box and found no problem.
The only answer they came up with was that a receiver must have been dislodged on one of my phones. I know that wasn't the case and reminded them that it wasn't me who made the call for a bucket truck because a line was bad. Now suddenly all my phones and internet are working perfectly.
I have no idea what will come of this but I do know that if the problem is inside your home there is a $85 service fee. After this fiasco with the two different repairmen I don't know how my phones just miraculously started working again but if  AT&T decides to charge me that fee hubbie and I have talked tonight and it will be the last money they get from us as we will cancel our phone and internet service with them.
It was a warm afternoon so I decided to do some work in my sewing shop. I cut out 11 large bonnets,9 medium bonnets, 3 baby bonnets and 6 full aprons before my back started hurting.
Enough to keep me busy on the upcoming cold rainy ,icy, snowy days.
Speaking of which we are expecting another winter blast overnight and into tomorrow according to our weather forecasters.

Makes me wonder what the morning will be like !!  It is still 43 degrees at 10:30 tonight so it has a ways to go to get icy or snowy.
I am feeling much better with my cold today,still have to carry a kleenex  with me but no watery eyes of sinus pain. I will probably take another dose of Nyquil tonight just to insure a good nights sleep.
Thankful to God for the hidden blessings in each day.
Good Night and God Bless.

NASTY HEAD COLD STARTS SUDDENLY

Without a trace of fever this morning g-son is ready to go back to school. This is a good day to ease back into the routine because it is an early dismissal day, students leave at 1:00. If his fever does re-appear it probably won't be until after 1:00 anyway.
I came home did chores in a bone chilling windy morning and came inside for a second cup of hot coffee to warm my bones.
Just as I was finishing my devotions the left side of my nose started burning badly. In just minutes I had a very runny nose,was sneezing my head off and battling to see clearly through watery eyes !!
I have been thankfully praying that I have made it this long without catching any of the junk I've been around. I don't think this is from g-son as it would be too soon for me to catch whatever he has.
Hopefully mine is just a nasty head cold. After an Alka-Seltzer cold I do feel better and the sneezing is at a minimum.
I am still cold and can't seem to get warm today while listening to the howling wind outside.
The temperature is 44 just before 1pm, the sun is shining but clouds are quickly moving in.
These daffodils are really showing off early this year.

I was afraid these cold 20 or below nights would cause them to shrivel and drop their blooms but so far so good. They have a perfect location on the sunny south side of the house.
I spent most of the day sneezing and wiping my runny nose and eyes so not much got done. I did manage to get an Avon order on line and call AT&T to report that my phone was dead . They assured me it would be fixed today but that didn't happen. I don't know whats up with them,as this is the second time I have been forgotten and had to call back to get this phone fixed. I should just have it cut off,we hardly ever use it but old habits die hard around here ! However if they don't fix the darn thing it will make my decision an easy one.
As time to pick up g-son came 2 hours earlier today the car rider line was twice as long as folks struggled to make other arrangements for their kids.

 When my kids were in school they did away with these early dismissal days because of the problems it caused for working parents but they have now brought them back to give the teachers more time without students.
G-son was back to normal this afternoon and he played and we read books until his dad picked him up.
I did chores and had chicken soup for supper to hopefully make me feel better. I did weekly paperwork, then watched Survivor.
After I finish with this blog I am going to take a hot steamy bath and a good dose of nyquil to hopefully help me get a good night's sleep.
God loves everyone and asked for very little in return.
Good Night and God Bless.

FEBRUARY BASKETBALL 2003

When d-in-love brought g-son in this morning he didn't want anything to eat,all he wanted to do was wrap up in a blanket and watch TV.
He still has a low grade fever when he finally woke up and let me take it around 8am it was 99.4.
He ate some waffles for breakfast and then got up and played for the morning. He followed me up and down the stairs as I did laundry and housework.
He looked and acted like he was totally over his sickness.

At lunch he didn't want to eat yet so I ate then went to work to finish re-arranging my office. I finally finished and even got to work on a photo project for awhile this afternoon.
G-son asked for mac and cheese but by the time I got it fixed for him his fever came back. He didn't eat and when I took his temp about 1:30 it was 100 . He said he felt really bad again,bless his heart !
I told him a nap might  help, so after making a call to mom to update her on him and giving him a dose of tylenol I turned the TV and lights off in the living room and wrapped him up in blankets with some favorite stuffed animal friends. He slept for over an hour and woke up thrashing out from under all his covers saying how hot he was. His fever had broken again and he immediately felt lots better.
He ate waffles and then had some cheese sticks dipped in ranch dressing.
Who knows what is going on with him ??  D-in-love called the Dr. and they said if he still runs the fever through the night to bring him in tomorrow to check for an infection somewhere.
After chores this evening I poured out 1/10th inch of rain from a hard shower early this morning.
Aaron the renter brought snowball a roll of hay just as we finished chores this evening,she'll be happy for a while.
Daughter's basketball team played their last conference game tonight at Tuscola HS in Haywood county. They played the #1 team in their conference,Pisgah and lost pretty badly.
They made the state play-offs so they do live to play at least one more game !
Basketball in February isn't new for daughter who played the game since she was 9 years old.
In her senior year of high school she was one of the best players around and still holds some records at the high school she now coaches at.
In February 2003 she received the honor of "player of the week" from the local newspaper.

She also reach a high school career mile stone of 1000 points during this month. When the 1000th point went through the hoop the game was stopped and she was presented with the game ball.

Posing with the proud parents after the game !

She loved her team mates,they were all very good friends.

I also traded cars that month and bought this 1999 Izusu Trooper which was a very good vehicle that we kept for several years.

As I sit and type this I can hear the wind howling outside tonight and the temperature is 38 at 10:00 headed they say for around 20 again tonight.
Thankful tonight for the blessings of the day and praying for g-son to shake off whatever he has.
A big thank you to all who donated to daughter's BB/BS fundraiser .
Good Night and God Bless.

CHANCE TO DONATE TO BIG BROTHERS/BIG SISTERS ORGANIZATION

G-son isn't feeling well this morning and is running a low grade fever so no school for him today.
Son called last night to ask if I minded keeping him sick,I don't mind as long as it's not a stomach sickness. I do not like those since I can't throw up without passing out due to my hyperactive vagel nerve.
Hubbie left early to meet daughter at the jeep dealership where she bought her jeep so he could  take her back to work while they changed her oil and rotated tires on a special offer they sent her.
I did chores and had breakfast while he was gone and we were all ready to do some shopping errands when he got back.
Hubbie needed a new pair of tennis shoes so we went to a sale at GBS shoes,where we both got new tennis shoes ! G-son found a pair he liked but they didn't have his size.
From there we picked up chicken feed at Southern States ,a toy for a really good boy at Walmart, lunch at Sam's club with some groceries, birdseed at Tractor Supply and daughter's jeep at the shop and delivered it back to her workplace on our way home.
G-son seemed to be feeling better after another dose of Tylenol during lunch. He played for the afternoon while hubbie worked outside pruning our muscadine grapes and I worked in my office. I can't believe I'm still not done in there !!
By the time #1 son got here to pick g-son up he was asleep on the couch and feeling a little warm again since he slept through his dose of tylenol this afternoon.
When they got home and took his fever it was only 99.9.
He complained through the day with different things so we have no idea what is going on with him.
Winter weather is raring it's head again tonight and early in the morning,maybe!!
Putting us under a winter weather advisory for in the morning and sending #1 son to work at 6am again.

There is a lot of moisture coming our way,just depends on what the mountains do to it when it crosses them.

Today started off really cold but warmed up nicely this afternoon.

I took this photo of the setting sun this evening, thinking it will be the last day in quite a few by the forecast that I will see the sun.

I need some quiet alone days to work on taxes but looks like tomorrow won't be one of them as g-son isn't going to school again.
Praying tonight that he feels better quickly and doesn't share whatever he has !!
As I close I want to say how proud I am of daughter and her endeavers. She has mentored several young girls through the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program. If you have followed my blog long you know the story of the latest one,Kate, who is now at UNCG and doing remarkably well determined not to fall into the footsteps of her upbringing.
Daughter is always doing something for someone so she is participating in this fundraiser for the Big Brothers/ Big Sisters organization. I am posting a link to allow any of my readers who would like to donate to this cause to help her reach her fundraising goal can do so.

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/TracyHorne/bowl-for-kids-sake-henderson-county?mid=zLsWAA2

Thanks in advance !!  And prayers are always appreciated for all the kids involved in this very worth while organization.
God bless and keep us as we go through each day.
Good Night and God Bless.