RAINY SLOW MARKET AND 1955 MARCH MEMORY

After slugging through the rain and mud getting chores done and getting the van loaded for market I knew that this rain would surly dampen what I had hoped would be another good sales day.
After we got set up I had a couple pretty good sales and an order picked up to get off to a pretty good start but then it was like someone hung a "closed" sign on the doors. There was much of the morning there were entirely empty isles. I am thankful for what I did sell today.
Daughter , D-in-love , g-son and Susan had went to a fund raising breakfast this morning for the Boys and Girls Club where daughter's b-friend works and they brought hubbie and I our pancakes and also #2 son who was delivering mail in town came by and picked his up. Steve the neighbor got one also.
They were good pancakes and we all enjoyed them.
Hubbie left to go by Sam's Club for our weekly supplies while daughter and Susan stayed with me.
After a while daughter left to go with her b-friend Josh to look at a new apartment for him. Susan stayed and helped me load the van after market. We went to a  truckload sale place and then she took me out to the place she lives at. I thought it was a nice little apartment but she does need something a little bigger for her and her son.
I came home, picked up g-son on the way to stay with me while his mom did a job at church.
I think someone needs a bigger bicycle !!  Just look at those long legs !!!!

 He played outside in the nice sunny mid 60's day until she finished her job, then he walked home.
Hubbie and I both took naps while trying not to this afternoon.  Our late night finally caught up with us.
After chore time the clouds were moving back in and a light rain began again. I emptied another 3/10ths inch from the gauge this evening. 
Hubbie and I watched the ACC championship game UNC / Notre Dame which ND won in a close game.
Wow it's hard to believe that March Madness time is already here and that winter has less than a week to go this year.
I need to get another decade memory done so this is pictures dated March 1955.  This is me at 6 months old with my mother and father who is on his Alis 45 tractor that was his work horse for many years.

I remember this old house on the neighboring property that my dad vegetable farmed for years. he called it the "old Whitaker place". My brother and I played in this old house until it finally fell down and was hauled away.  I love that huge rock chimney.
As the day ended this evening the clouds moved back in to cover the sun. Susan went up on Bearwallow mountain and sent me this picture.

Grateful for another blessed day and looking forward to worshiping my Heavenly Father with my church family tomorrow.
Good Night and God Bless.

BUSY FRIDAY

Another dreary cloudy day on tap for this Friday the 13th. The second Friday the 13th of this year and the second in as many months, with one more to go later this year.
After chores and breakfast I got busy early baking cakes as I am thinking tomorrow will be a good sales day . I needed to get four pound cakes baked early so they would be completely cool when a lady picks them up at 2:00.
In all I made 12 caramel, 3 chocolate, 8 pound and an applesauce cake for a special order.
I also made a batch of peanut butter fudge while the last cakes were in the ovens.  It was 3:00 when I finally shut the last oven down. I iced 6 of the caramel cakes before hubbie got home from work.
Both little EL and baby BB are coming to stay with us this evening while dad gets finished working and mom goes out to the college to sing with out church praise band.
I held baby BB while hubbie took care of EL.

These are two cutie pies !!!

They were both very good tonight. Daddy came in from work and took over baby BB while I did my evening chores. Hubbie and EL were playing with the race track in the playroom when I got back inside.

I played with her while hubbie did his feeding chores. I is much easier for all of us to work together.
The old saying " it takes a village to raise a child" was correct.
The rain started getting harder tonight after dark. I had emptied 3/10ths inch from the guage at chore time.
After they all went home hubbie and I watched the UNC / Virginia ACC tournament game which UNC won putting them in the championship game tomorrow night.
While I iced my cakes I listened to the Duke / Notre Dame game which Notre Dame won to reach the championship game.
The game wasn't over until midnight so we both will be struggling to get up earlier in the morning.
This has been a busy good day of work and fun and I am very thankful for the opportunity to spend time with these kids and watch them as they grow and develop their sweet little personalities.
Thanking God tonight for the blessings He sends my way each and every day. I am so thankful each night for the day that just passed and am always so thankful for each minute of that day as I always think about the question that ask if you only had tomorrow what you remembered to thank God for today, how would tomorrow be for you?
Good Night and God Bless.

ERRAND DAY

7am alarm this morning as g-son came to get ready for school while his mom had to be at a meeting by 8am.  I took him into school and he was happy as a lark . Maybe the spring fever he had a week ago went away for awhile at least.
I came home did the chores and had breakfast then Re picked me up and we headed into town to run our errands and pick up groceries.
We stopped at the bank first so she could open savings accounts for the kids.  This is a pic she took of EL giving her first deposit to the bank lady.

Both the kids were little angels today for the most part as we got all but one stop made before having to get home for nap time.
We had some fun in Walmart trying on Easter hats !!!
EL looks like a true Southern Belle with this big hat on.

We dropped my groceries at my house then went over to get the kids settled and get Re's things inside and put away. The kids were ready for naps so I headed home to put my things away and catch the second half of the UNC / Louisville ACC tournament game which UNC won in a great game.
While the game was on I also put photo's in albums, getting all the way thru October 2014.
Only 2 months to go and 2014 pics are done !!
Today has really been a nice day, sunny with temps in the low 60's.
After chores hubbie and I watched the Duke / NCState game which was a blowout by Duke.
Daughter came by and showed me her new I phone 6 she just upgraded to this afternoon. She was having trouble getting everything working on it.  But I'm sure she is so tech savy she will figure it out.
I am more than ready for an early bedtime tonight after my 7:00 wake up. Maybe this is what it took to get my body to switch to the new time.
I have been going to bed earlier but still can't get to sleep any earlier, I think tonight will be different.
Thankful to God for a Blessed day and for the love of a wonderful loving Savior.
Good Night and God Bless.

RAIN SLICK ROADS CAUSE ACCIDENT

Another cloudy morning greeted me today as I headed outside to get the animals their morning food and release them from their safe overnight houses to meet the day.
I'm sure they are hoping for some warm sunshine just as I am but not looking good for that today.
After breakfast I came back outside to get my morning walk in. With the temperature already in the 50's I didn't even need a jacket today over my sweatshirt.
These white Daffodils are starting to bloom along with the yellow ones along side the house.

We still haven't had much rain but that is supposed to change later today.
I baked an order of 4 pound cakes this morning for a lady to pick up later today then started housework.
I did some sewing repairs on some of the stuffed animals in the play room that are favorites with the kids then it was time for lunch.
I spent the afternoon doing housework and keeping up with the ACC tournament games on TV. UNC played Boston College and won that game easily.
The promised heavier rain came in about 3 this afternoon, the lady came after her cakes just as the rain started. Hopefully she didn't mind rain sprinkled cake boxes !!
About 3:45 I heard a loud bang and looked out the open front door. I saw a little black car  stopped in the wrong lane of traffic and a young man standing outside the open drivers door. I put my rain coat on and went out on the hill to see what was going on. I didn't see any other car or any thing that looked like it had been hit.  I saw #1 son who had just gotten home from work walking out to the road and a volunteer fireman came from the other direction and stopped .  He and #1 son were directing traffic around the car until the firetruck came with other help. I called #1 son to see what happened and he said the boy had slick tires on the front on his car and had slid into the guard rail along that section on road.  He had done quite a bit of damage to his car but nothing else and he wasn't hurt.  Thankfully no one was coming in the other direction as he slid across the road into the oncoming traffic lane.
This new pavement is very slick when it gets wet. When I look down on it from up here it looks like a mirror when it rains.
Hubbie came home after all the excitement was over and we watched the news trying to wait out the heavy rain before choretime.
Around 6 the rain stopped and we headed out to get the evening feeding done.
I emptied 2/10ths inch of rain from the rain guage after  the afternoon rainfall.
We are going to get a break in the clouds and rain starting tonight thru tomorrow so that will be nice.
The sun started to peak through the clouds tonight at sunset to remind us that it was still there !!!

 I did weekly paperwork and wrote a letter back to my cousin in Michigan who sent me a card. I need to keep in closer touch with these guys as they are some of my first cousins.
We watched Survivor on TV tonight and then went for early bedtimes.
Thankful for the wonderful day and for my health and that my Heavenly Father loves me.
Good Night and God Bless.

CLOUDY DAY

Another cloudy morning but the rain is still holding off.
After chores and breakfast I took a morning walk under the totally cloudy sky but the temperature is in the low 50's already.

When my walk was finished I went into my sewing shop and cut out 20 little eyelet lace pillows. Customers have been asking for these at market and I have been sold out for awhile. At least they are cut out and ready to sew together.
With the warmer weather it is time to get some things cut out and inside to sew up. I am going to start setting aside some time each day for sewing.
I came inside for lunch when my back and neck muscles started tensing up from all the cutting.
I caught up on my blog book reading and started cleaning up the play room. Re and the kids came over and I went outside to play with EL. She is checking on the quails in this cage.

 We walked and talked until hubbie got home from work. EL likes to feed the animals with him. And she loves pretending to take them on a drive in the golf cart.

El came back over a little later while mom went to music rehearsal at church. She had supper with us while her dad put out hay to all  his cows.  She wanted to go with me to feed the chickens which surprised me after she was scared by one of them flopping its wings. Maybe she is overcoming her fear. She went in every lot and sprinkled corn for them on the ground.
After her dad picked her up hubbie and I relaxed for the evening and then headed to early bed times as we both are still trying to adjust to the new time.
I saw this and had to share.

Grateful for another blessed day.
Good Night and God Bless.

NEW WALKWAY

Well when the 8am alarm sounded this morning I looked out the window into darkness, uhhhh!!!
A good reason to roll over under the warm covers and snooze a while longer ,me thinks !!!!
After a little while the dogs got restless and I felt hubbie getting up to let them outside. Monday mornings are great with him here to be the earliest riser !
I managed to drag myself out into the first Monday of  daylight savings time a little later.
I'm sure the hens are excited to be getting out of their houses earlier since they are still on regular time which is an hour behind.
After breakfast and watching the light rain falling outside hubbie went to his work shop and I started the weekly laundry.
Re needed to go grocery shopping so little EL stayed here while she went. Hubbie came in from finishing his project and he watched TV with her while I finished my cleaning job downstairs.
I vacuumed all around the wood stove downstairs since we didn't have a fire in it yesterday or last night and all the ashes were completely cold.
Hubbie chops kindling down there so there is always a mess around the stove and I can't vacuum when it has a fire in it without being afraid of sucking up a live ember.
I got this done along with 3 loads of laundry and then we three had lunch of yesterday's leftovers. Re and baby BB came in and she ate her lunch also.
They all went home for naps.
I felt like I needed a nap also but knew that would really mess up my sleeping schedule.
Hubbie and I went up to the garden and took out all the plants that we had gotten from #2 son's yard last Fall when he did some landscaping.  I brought 2 rose bushes down to the front of the house to a bed that already contains a couple roses. We also brought a  large shrub that we don't know what it is and planted it in one of the beds out front. It will be interesting to see what it is if it lives.
We also found places for some Iris and Hostas then put the rest of the plants in this bath tub and a couple pots up by the green house to wait to see what they are before choosing planting places.

As we finished this job, we decided it was to wet to plow the garden, so both of us knowing if we went inside and sat down we would be asleep for sure looked for something else to do.
Walking through the muddy back yard we decided to make a trip to Lowes to see what kind of stepping stone choices they had.
We found some that have rough tops to help them not get slick when they get wet and brought some home. As is always the case we didn't get enough so hubbie had to make a second trip to Lowes so we could get the job finished . He also got grass seed to plant between and around them to hopefully stop some of the washing rain run-off that comes rushing through the yard, but with 2 inches of rain predicted this week we decided to wait on putting out the grass seed.
This is the finished stone work and path up the hill to the garden and chickens houses.

We tried to create a pattern that wouldn't dam up the water runoff but maybe spread it out and stop so much washing. Guess I will have to watch it closely if we do get the rain they are predicting.
There was only about 1/10th inch in the gauge from this morning's rainfall.
I would love to get grass growing all around this area but never have had any luck with that. We have tried different things to stop all the mudiness that comes with this to no success so we will see what this does. I'm hoping for less muddy foot prints in the house !!
After chores this evening I had a new recipe smoothie for supper and it was delicious made with fresh pineapple and banana.
It was so cool and damp in the house tonight we built a fire downstairs to get that warm wood fire comfort again. That is going to be hard to get used to being without.
The temperature was around 60 today but the clouds and dampness made it feel cooler.
It is 51 degrees at 10:45 tonight.
Grateful for the blessings of this day and thankful for the wonderful world God created .
Good Night and God Bless.

SPRING FORWARD SUNDAY

Okay I am trying to be positive this year about this time change thing .  I do enjoy the longer evenings and now I can start watching the entire news cast before it is time to head out to do the feeding chores.  I feel okay this morning but I'm sure by evening I am going to be dragging from the less sleep I got last night.
As I woke this morning at the regular 8am time by the alarm, I was reminded that it was 7am yesterday at this time. Not complaining , just sayin !!!!!
I came across a couple recipes that we are trying out today. I have cooked a turkey breast all night in one of the crock pots and this morning in another crock pot I fixed a "crock pot" broccoli cheese casserole. We also put dried mixed beans in my power cooker and covered them with water, set the dial for 30 minutes as per instructions. I did not think these would be done in that 30 minutes, but worth a try. After the 30 minute cook time was up it went to the warm cycle and held there.
Church was good today, preached by Craig our associate pastor again in the absence of the senior pastor who is on a mission trip.
Everyone made it to lunch today with a couple extra guest. Susan and her little boy, Benji , ate with us today. She brought a couple yummy desserts to go along with everything else.
The broccoli casserole was delicious and the dried beans in the power cooker were perfectly cooked.
We also had candied sweet potatoes, boiled red potatoes, green beans, corn and rolls with iced sweet tea to drink.
Everyone enjoyed the food and fellowship.
EL and I showed Susan around the farm and then everyone left for their own Sunday afternoon activities.
As I walked around this evening I am starting to see the first signs that spring growth is starting.
The green buds on these plum trees have really progressed since just last Monday when we were pruning them.

This row of Daffodils never gave up their blooms even after the early ones got coated in ice and snow a couple weeks ago.

The Oregano is starting to poke its new green leaves up through the mulch.

With the new longer evenings before chore time today I took some time to sit outside in the covered patio for the first time this season in just my sweatshirt and pants (no insulated cover-alls) .
This sunset shows the edge of the rain clouds that are moving into our area overnight and for the entire week if the weather gurus are correct.

But the temperatures look more early spring like.

Thanking God tonight for the wonderful blessing filled day and praying for all my family and friends , that in the coming days they find His wonderful peace and love in all that they do.
Good Night and God Bless.