BACHELORETTE OUTTING

Up and off to market on another cool 44 degree morning. I changed my mind and put long pants on this morning instead of the capris I had laid out, glad I did as the breeze kept the day very cool.
Market was surprisingly slow on this Saturday before Mother's Day.  I was thankful for the couple orders I had and the few things that I did sell.
With market empty of customers around 12:30 I decided not to have hubbie come back for the last hour of market while I got ready for daughter's bachelorette outing , instead I just packed up early and headed home.
Hubbie helped get things unloaded and put away and get the Honda cleaned out as I am one of the drivers today.
I hurriedly changed clothes and grabbed a snack before going down to pick up d-in-love and Re . We were meeting everyone else in the parking lot at Pier One to leave their cars.
Kendra was the other driver and we also picked up Jessica there. We are meeting everyone else in Asheville.
First stop was in midtown Asheville at the Hotel that this "pubcycle" runs out of.

Me, Andrea,Megan,Tyler (our driver), daughter, Re,Jessica,Kendra (in front), Suzanne (in back), d-in-love (in back) and Rebeca (in yellow). Our pedaling crew !!!
It was a great time as we pedaled this thing through down town Asheville for 40 minutes. We got to see some of the sights close up that are hard to see from a car. And this was a much slower better view !!

Everyone had a blast with the loud music and our driver's antics along the way !!
From there we headed over to Biltmore village to shop around for about 45 minutes before dinner. I found a necklace and earrings to go with my dress for the wedding at a little shop called Charmin Charleys.
We had dinner at Hickory Tavern and it was very good. We were joined there by Connie (josh's mom), Carrie (Josh's sister) and Kristen (Josh's SIL).

Daughter was presented with some little gifts while we waited for our food.

Then we walked down the street to "Painting with a Twist" where we all painted a picture.

This is Jessica and daughter as we take our places and get ready to paint on these blank canvases.

The first several steps gave us this which doesn't look like anything yet.
Then I added Jars and flowers  !!

This is my finished painting which I was really surprised that turned out like this. I did add some personal touches to it.

Everyone's look different after your personal touches and it was loads of fun for everyone.

Front row,from left , Kendra,Jessica,Andrea,Me, Kristen
Back row, from left , Megan, Re, daughter, d-in-love, Connie, Carrie.
And this is the original example we were trying to create.

It was a great outing for daughter and everyone had a great time.  A big thanks to Kendra for putting all this together for us !!!
I made it home around 10pm.
We couldn't have asked for a nicer day for this outing as the bright sunshine was glorious with the low 70's temperature.
Hubbie had went with #1 son to see g-son in his second Flat Rock playhouse play that he has been practicing each Monday after school for. He said he did a great job and g-daughter was well behaved.
Thanking God for a wonderful day and for blessing daughter with so many wonderful friends and family. And Thankful to God for blessing me with an amazing daughter .
God Bless and Good Night.

BAKING and PLANTING ON A WINDY FRIDAY

Hubbie took today off so he can use up some extra time before it goes away at the end of the calendar year where he works.
He got up when g-daughter arrived at 7 and brought her back to bed between us. She must have loved the extra person in bed this morning as she slept until after 8:30 !!!
I got up and did chores and had breakfast then fed g-daughter her fruit and cereal. G-daughter and hubbie spent the morning playing and watching cartoons on TV while I baked cakes. I baked 6 caramel, 2 pound cakes and some lemon bars.

When the last cakes were in the oven I heard hubbie calling me from the living room. I discovered a real mess when I got there. G-daughter had pooped pretty much everywhere while sitting in her bouncy saucer seat and hubbie now had it all over him as he had picked her up without knowing about the mess she was in.
It was an early bath time for this one , an extra shower for hubbie and a good laugh for me !!!!

I threw all her clothes and the cover for the bouncy seat into the washer to end the messy ordeal.
We had lunch after we all got cleaned up then g-daughter went down for her afternoon nap.
Re picked me up to go out to the high school to the FFA's plant sale. EL decided to stay here with Pawpaw and BB got to go to the sale on his mom's back in the backpack and was a very good boy while we searched through all the plants.
I bought a flat of vegetables and a flat of flowers, Re bought a couple flats and daughter bought a flat so we did our part to help out the fund raising effort for the FFA.
G-daughter slept until 3:30 and while she slept hubbie put up my new boot shelves in our bedroom and I got all my boot boxes out of the floor where I kept kicking them over.

After g-daughter got up she played in the floor for a long time. She rolls over and over now and wants to crawl badly but just can't get the hang of getting her knees up.

After d-in-love came after her hubbie got a call from daughter that her car wouldn't start and she needed her lawn mower out of the garage that was blocked in by the car.
She has a rental car to drive until the airbag replacements come in for her Acura so she has only been starting the Acura once a week and the battery evidently has died. Hubbie took a charging box over and started it for her.
While he was gone I planted all the flowers I bought today in pots around the house. I also replanted my lettuce in the garden that has never came up. Some things are just now starting to come after the recent rains that have been planted for a month !!!
As I tilled the ground a little to plant the new lettuce seed I was surprised at how dry the soil is already after the 3" of rain we had last week.
The wind that has blown hard for the last couple days and is still blowing today has done a good job of drying things out.
With the temperature this morning at 42 and the high this afternoon at 64 with sunshine the wind kept it jacket weather all day outside.
The yard is covered with pieces of green leaves that the winds have torn apart.
I worked pulling weeds and grass out of my steps in the back yard until hubbie got home. He raked the gravel around the stepping stones back up to the top of the stones.
This is just one part of the yard that is de-winterized finally !!!
After chores I iced cakes and got things ready for market.
Thankful for the blessings of this day and for the family and friends He has blessed me with.
God Bless and Good Night.

COLD SLOW MARKET AND DAY OF PRAYER

Thankfully the temp was still in the low 40's this morning when g-daughter arrived at 7am. We snuggled back down under the covers for a few minutes .
I did chores and got ready for market while she watched Sesame Street. I can't leave her on our bed it is way too high and she is like a little scooting monkey right now so when I get up she has to get up.
We had our jackets and hoods on this morning to fend off the very cold high winds.
Market was like a ghost town today as expected with the weather.
This little girl got lots of attention from bored vendor neighbors today and she isn't the only grandchild to be gracing market with their presence these days !!

 It also helps to have Daniel Tiger to watch to ease the boredom !!!

 After market we headed out to run the regular errands and then made shopping stops at Aldi and Walmart. She slept through the errands and Aldi but very vocally helped me shop in Walmart . She is so funny when she loudly jabbers and everyone thinks she is the cutest thing ever doing it !!!
D-in-love picked her up to make another shopping trip as soon as we got home. I got things all unloaded just before hubbie got home. We rested and watched the news before doing chores in the cold windy evening. It feels much colder to me tonight than last night but the wind is blowing really hard making the chill factor really low. It even rained this evening with the sun shining. Crazy weather we are having right now.
This is not a typical North Carolina May day !!!

And the wind is blowing so hard it is blowing all the blooms off my late blooming Azaleas.

The neighbor's fields are getting ready to be filled with Tomato plants under all this while plastic. It looks like a reflective lake over there from our hill !!

 Daughter spent the day in Chapel Hill with the other two basketball coaches receiving an award for their team. Thankful for safe travel for them as they made this trip.

 Today was the National Day of Prayer and in our town folks gathered at the old court house to listen to choir music and pray.

We definitely need to pray for our country today and the members of our government as these next years are really going to get very interesting I think. This country was founded on the word of God and we need to get back to that to continue to be a great nation.
I am thankful that I have my God to lean on in times like these and am so grateful for His love and care each day.
God Bless and Good Night.

BLACKBERRY WINTER

G-daughter went back to sleep this morning for an hour after she arrived so I had time to get the chores done before she woke up or so I thought !!!  While I was outside I could hear #1 son's basset hound continually barking down at their house. I've never heard this dog bark like that before so I went to check out the reason.
He was barking at something under a storage shed down there, probably a ground hog. Anyway I got my early morning walk in today already !!
G-daughter didn't miss me because she was just waking up when I got back inside.
We had breakfast and then she watched TV while I did my yoga tape and then baked cakes. I baked 2 pound cakes and 2 chocolate layer cakes . She took a late morning nap and I got my sewing project for the day finished during that.
These are 2 more little girls aprons made from the curtain valances I bought at the flea market last month.

After lunch we played and she belly crawled all around the living room while I finished changing out the furniture covers and did the house cleaning .
When she went down for her long afternoon nap I vacuumed and moped the floors in the living room and sunroom and did a couple loads of month ending laundry.
D-in-love came in just as she was waking up this afternoon. G-son was all better and feeling fine after this first day back at school this week.
After hubbie and I finished chores a little early we went over to GB shoes to their midnight madness  sale they were having tonight only. They were giving 30% off your entire purchase and hubbie needed a pair of work tennis shoes for the warmer weather.
I also found a nice pair of sandals to wear for the wedding while I was there at the discount price.
Back home I did the weekly paperwork and paid bills then iced the chocolate cakes and got things ready for market tomorrow.
The air is really chilly tonight with the high today only getting to the low 60's with mostly cloudy skies and a sprinkling of rain as we drove home tonight it definitely doesn't feel like summer tonight.
This is the "blackberry winter" lows forecast for tonight.

We are putting our faith in the weathermen tonight and not covering any plants so hopefully they won't miss it !!!
The folks in the higher mountains are definitely spending time covering up things tonight as they are expecting snowfall tonight and tomorrow.

Hopefully this will be the last tease that winter has to offer .
Thanking God for a blessing filled day and for the health that He blesses me with.
God Bless and Good Night.

TWO GRANDS DAY

Woke to a 2 grandchildren day today. With g-son feverless now after a couple doses of medicine but still not feeling up to par he is staying here with g-daughter and I today while mom goes back to work.

G-daughter finally went back to sleep for about 45 minutes this morning. She knows her brother is in the living room and that's where she wants to be !!!
He ate waffles for breakfast then I did the morning chores. The rain gauge had another 6/10ths inch of rain from some pretty bad thunder and lightening storms again overnight. At least I slept through most of them this time.
I had breakfast and fed g-daughter then they watched TV while I did some housecleaning.
G-daughter took a long late morning nap and slept through our lunch.  She finally woke up around 1:00 and ate her lunch.
The day is partly sunny and upper 70's but there is too much mud out there to go outside to play today. G-son doesn't act like he wants to move around much anyway as he says his leg is not working correctly this afternoon ?????
I changed some of my monthly decor today and put some things back in the attic until next spring.
G-daughter woke up so late she didn't want to go back down for another nap this afternoon. She played in the floor and watched her brother all afternoon. I think she is very glad to have his company today!!

When d-in-love got here g-son was crying with his legs, saying they just wouldn't work . I finally got him up to stand on them and he got better. I thought it might be a side effect of the medicine he is taking but he seemed to get better after putting weight on them for a while.
They left and went home for g-daughter to get a late nap and I rested while I watched the news.
When I did the chores I heard peeps coming from the last setting Silkie and when I checked I saw three little cuties so far.

I feel sorry for another black Silkie hen who wants to set so badly but there just isn't an open brooder box for her !!
After chores hubbie went up to the hospital to see his aunt Allene, his mom's sister who has just been diagnosed with bone cancer. She has had memory loss for several years and hubbie wasn't sure she even knew who he was but at least he had a nice visit with his cousins.
While he was gone I went thorough some clothes and am getting a "goodwill" bag together .
These blooms always make me nervous even though they are very pretty and produce yummy berries.

And just as they bloom here comes "blackberry winter" as the air this evening has a totally different feel to it than it has the last several weeks. At least the temps are not going down to freezing but there is snow predicted for the higher mountains Thursday night and that 56 degree high is going to feel downright cold after these 80 degree days!!

Grateful for the love of Jesus Christ tonight and the blessings of this day.
God Bless and Good Night.

STREP THROAT SNEAKS IN

Woke to a ping from my phone just before g-daughter should arrive. D-in-love said in the text that she was taking the day off to take g-son, who has ran a low grade fever all weekend, to the doc this morning and would be bringing g-daughter around 7:45.  She didn't want to take her into the doctors office where she might pick up a bug.
Hubbie and I got an extra 45 minutes of sleep before beginning this Monday.
G-daughter was in her normal smiley mood when she arrived but g-son looked like he really felt bad.
I did morning chores and had breakfast while hubbie fed g-daughter and then she wanted an earlier morning nap.
Well g-son has his spring case of strep throat , yuck !!!  No wonder he was feeling so bad.
I spent the morning while g-daughter napped doing 3 loads of laundry and changing some monthly decorations.
D-in-love decided to leave g-daughter here while she and g-son went home to put the new crib together and move some things around.
She took a long afternoon nap while hubbie worked outside and I worked inside.
I have been putting off making new seat covers for my 8 dining room chairs. They came with white covers and everyone knows how white looks after a year of use.

I found some of the same canvas like upholstery fabric in my shop and made new light tan covers for them this afternoon. I washed and cloroxed the white covers and they look like new so I can put them back on when these get dirty.

When g-daughter woke up d-in-love came after her. She is such a sweetie in a new outfit.

As I did chores this evening I turned around to check out my entourage following me up to the feed shed.
I'm pretty sure Roho the rooster thinks he is a dog, but I am also pretty sure Annie, Flash and Sadie know he is not a dog !!!!

The garden still looks pretty pitiful after most years by the first of May we are already eating from it.

I am wondering if I should replant now or wait a few more days to see what some nice warm sunshine will do for all the things that haven't come up.
The rain yesterday made some things pop into bloom that I was afraid weren't going to bloom this year. This is a double Azalea that looks like little carnations. It was loaded with buds just waiting on some thirst quenching rain to burst open.

Another late bloomer is this salmon colored beauty above the house.

And the Weigelia bloomed out seemingly over night.

This has been a nice day here with clouds and looking like storms several times but no rain yet. Thankfully we haven't seen any of the hail that neighboring counties have had yesterday and today.
Thankful for all my blessings of this day and praying that g-son gets well fast .
God Bless and Good Night

CHARLOTTE SHOPPING TRIP

Whoa!! What a night !!  Just as I finished blogging and turned the computer off last light the skies opened up with pouring rain , wind, thunder and lightening.
The rain sounded thunderous itself on our metal roof so much that there was no sleeping until it passed.
Finally I think the last time I looked at the clock it said 1:30. After that the rain slacked or I just got so tired I fell asleep anyway only to be awakened a short time later by really loud claps of thunder which sent the 4-legged kids scrambling to get under the covers with us. Their trembling thwarted any chance of going back to sleep until this storm passed.
With plans for today's Ikea and "mother of the bride" dress shopping trip to Charlotte now hanging by a thin thread it seemed I had just gotten back to sleep when the 7am alarm sounded.
As we looked out the window the rain had passed and watching the radar on TV the worst looked like it had passed for the day so we got up and got ready to make our planned trip. Surprisingly I emptied a whopping 2&1/2 inches of rain from the gauge. I must have slept through some of the hard rains for sure !!
This was the only day daughter could go in her busy schedule and d-in-love needed to get a crib for g-daughter at Ikea. We drove both cars. #1 son and g-son had planned to go with us and then them and hubbie were going to the big outdoors shop at the Concord Mall but g-son is still running a fever and doesn't feel like traveling so they stayed home leaving hubbie to shop with us.
We picked daughter up and met d-in-love at Mcdonalds to head down the mountain together.
Thankfully we didn't catch the rain that was moving through ahead of us this morning and by the time we arrived at Ikea the sun was shining.

Our shopping group !!!

This little trouper did great.

We had lunch in Ikea then finished shopping there about 2:30.
With daughter navigating we followed d-in-love over to the South Park mall to look for me a dress. I had done some searching on the internet last night and decided Dilliards would be a good place to start my search.
After trying on about a dozen dresses and narrowing it down to 2 we called for hubbie and got the sales clerks opinion of which she thought looked better on me. This was the selection !!!

I really like the color, not so much the sequins but I like it enough to get past that with the overall comfort of the dress. I also love the vintage look and the color compliments the bridesmaids dresses.The other finalist was silver with off white raised flowers on the dress.
Another wedding planning task marked off the list !!! Daughter also marked several things off the list with purchases she made at Ikea. Two months to go and I think we are really close to being ready !!
Daughter tried on a couple dresses she found for the rehearsal dinner but didn't like them.
We headed home about 4:00, only about an hour later than I had hoped for so that was a very successful day.
And thanking God again we missed all the rain and hail storms on the way back up the mountain.
These hail stones fell just above where we drove through about an hour after we passed.

Sorry we missed church today as this was the last sermon for our senior pastor but I can't say I'm sorry that I missed the tears that came with saying good bye after 25 years in this pulpit.
This is a pic of him in his office with the associate pastor  before the service today.

Mike you will be missed. Thank you for serving our congregation well and with a servants heart for all these years. May your future be bright and give you all the happiness you deserve. God Bless.

After dropping daughter and her things off at her house hubbie and I got home just in time to get the chores done before darkness caught us. We have both spent a quiet resting evening as shopping is hard work for folks of our age !!!!
So grateful for God's traveling mercies for both cars today and thankful for the many blessings along the way. Praying that this new month will bring me closer to being the faithful servant to my Heavenly Father that I strive to be every day.
God Bless and Good Night.