BIRTHDAY PARTY SUNDAY

#1 son arrived this morning at 7:30 bringing 3 butts to put in the smoker for g-daughter R's birthday gathering this evening.
Hubbie got up and helped get the smoker going and I got a few extra zzz's .
I got the chores done, had breakfast and then put a spaghetti squash in the pressure pot for lunch today.
The wind has kicked up some so hubbie has to stay home and watch the smoker temperature so I went to church alone today.
We had a guest speaker today, a man named Scott Love who is the leader of the "glasses for missions" ministry . Our church has been active in this mission for many years and are active right now at the mountain state fair providing glasses for the fair workers who need them.
I came home and hubbie had spaghetti made and waiting and I made a salad quickly to give us some green to go with it.
#1 son, g-son and Aa's family ate with us.
Hubbie had a Deacon's meeting at 3:00 and while he was gone I got the chores done early and watched the smoker temperatture.
When he came home we took the meat out of the smoker and got the slaw that hubbie made this morning and headed down to #1 son's house for g-daughter R's birthday party.
The kids all had a great time playing with the birthday girl.

 The food was delicious and everyone enjoyed the smoked butt, cole slaw, baked beans and mac and cheese.

G-daughter R loved blowing out her candles and eating the yummy cupcakes her mom had made.

All the family on both sides made it to the party along with some close friends for a wonderful time.

Then it was the favorite time of the evening, time to open all those pretty colored paper presents.

And the littlest of the group of kids was all pooped out after the party !!!!

As we partied the evening away I felt twinges of guilt ,thinking of all the folks in Florida that are having a horrific day as hurricane Irma slammed into the southwest coast near Naples today.

Some of the pics already coming in from the Florida Keys  and the southern most parts of Florida are showing major damage.
The path is still turning the worst of the storm away from us but with the unpredictability so far of this storm the local officials are taking no chances and have canceled school for tomorrow and also shut the mountain state fair down for the day believing that the damaging winds and rain will reach far outside the red zone path .

The sky this evening was giving off an amazing red glow which is in defiance of the old saying that says "red sky at  twilight, sailors delight"  ?????   Maybe if you were sailing in the Pacific ocean but there would be no delight in sailing in the Atlantic ocean tomorrow.

There is an eerie feeling outside tonight as the air seems so still and there are no sounds of birds or anything this evening . It's as if all nature is hunkering down and just waiting for the storm.
Praying tonight for all the folks in the path of this storm and praying that God's protective arms be spread around my family and friends as this monster storms winds down.
God Bless and Good Night

BUSY MARKET SATURDAY AND MORE HURRICANE NEWS

It's great to be able to sleep a little longer on Saturday morning but it is market day so we don't sleep much longer.
Market was much busier than I had thought it would be and I am very thankful for that. I stayed pretty busy all day and came really close to selling out of my baked goods .
Hubbie left early to make a couple stops and get to g-son's first soccer game of the season. They won the game and g-son played goalie most of the game and hubbie said he did a great job of blocking shots.
I left market and made one stop at Aldi to pick up baking supplies for next week.
Hubbie and I made it home at about the same time and he helped me unload. We spent the afternoon resting as both of us are feeling really worn out today.
We had to pass up an invitation from son-in-love's mom Connie to attend an all day fun day and cook out in Saluda today . Daughter decked g-daughter I out in her first UNC outfit and she looks like a true fan.

As we rested and watched the news I prayed for the folks in the path of Irma who still keeps shifting her path and causing more folks to have to evacuate .

Fortunately for us the further she shifts west the less the effects for us and as of the newest path predictions this is the rain totals for our area.

Monday and Tuesday are going to be pretty bad rainy cool and windy days but not the damaging weather days that was once predicted , that is unless Irma changes her direction again.

And as of this evening the other hurricane named Jose which is a category 4 also and was not causing any concerns because the tract has been predicted to go northeast away from any land may have changed his mind and now is becoming a concern as it stalls and then moves again as to which way he will choose to go.

If you look closely you can follow a red tract that has this storm hitting the east coast of Florida and coming right up over our area . That would be total devastation for the state of Florida.

As I get to bed very early tonight to try and rejuvenate my energy I pray for all the folks who are running from Irma and pray that they find safety if only in the arms of Jesus Christ because after all that is the only entirely safe place for all of us.
God Bless and Good Night.

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY G-DAUGHTER R

The birthday girl, g-daughter R arrived first at 7:10 this morning. She is 2 years old today and seemed happy about it !!!

G-daughter I arrived about 10 minutes later and was also happy this morning which makes a great start to a Friday !

Off g-daughter R and I went to her pre-school. She took special birthday muffins in today for snack for all the kids in her class.
We met my nephew and his son, Noah going in from the parking lot and g-daughter R and Noah were so cute walking in together.
I came home and had breakfast while hubbie fed g-daughter I her first bottle.
We took turns with some small task this morning and taking care of g-daughter I as she would only cat nap this morning. She is getting so big so fast !!!!

We left early to go pick up g-daughter R and stopped by sis-in-law Sandy's to pick up some things and then to Lowes for a new fan and light for our bedroom as our fan stopped working .
G-daughter I loved looking around at all the pretty lights to choose from.

We picked up g-daughter R and headed home through very heavy traffic. The interstate  heading west is very backed up putting more traffic on the secondary roads  with everyone trying to evacuate Florida and Georgia today.

We finally made it home in almost 3 times the normal time it takes !!
G-daughter R was asleep and slept in her bed for almost 2 hours while we fed g-daughter I another bottle and then put her down for another cat nap.
I baked cakes, 5 pound , 1 chocolate and 2 pans of brownies , expecting a slow day at market tomorrow with the mountain state fair opening today which always makes out business slow.
G-daughter R woke up and wanted to play outside and swing. She thinks she is too big for the baby swing now !!!

When we got back inside she found her birthday present and with her party not being until Sunday I let her go ahead and open it.

She loved it and played quietly with it for a long time allowing g-daughter I to get her longest nap of the day in.
These two are going to be so much fun together !!!!

Daughter and d-in-love came in after the kids  and d-in-love said they had a meeting at her school and her principle announced her retirement at the end of this month .
She is wondering what kind of boss she will get ????
After they left to go home #2 son came after Bear his dog who spent the day with us while the realtor showed his house to a prospective buyer.
Hubbie and I did chores and then watched the news of the hurricane which again has switched paths. Seems each day there is a new predicted path for this storm. This new path will surely be better for our area if it indeed happens ???

I iced cakes and got things ready for market tonight .
I am very thankful for the blessings of this day and praying for the folks in the path of Irma.
God Bless and Good Night

MONSTER HURRICANE IRMA HEADED OUR WAY

Up early on this market day to greet g-daughter R . I did chores while hubbie got her some breakfast.
She was kind of hoarse sounding this morning but acted like she felt fine.
We left at 8:20 to get her to school and hubbie was going by the high school to get daughters baked goods out of her car on his way to meet me at market.
G-daughter R went to sleep on the way there and I couldn't get her to wake up to walk in so I carried her in asleep and handed her to the teacher where g-daughter continued to sleep on her shoulder.
I talked to d-in-love later and she said she went to bed late and got up extra early this morning so she was really tired.
Hubbie was already at market with daughters things and helped me get set up. He stayed for a while to make sure other g-ma was going to be able to pick g-daughter R up before he left to run his Thursday errands of getting our trash and recyclables to the dump, getting some generator gas for us to help prepare if the storm hits and getting our weekly supplies from Sam's Club on his way home to mow the lawn.
The sun is shining this morning but it was 44 degrees when we headed out and is not warming up too quickly even with the sunshine.
All the talk this morning is of the hurricane that might be headed our way and I have talked to several folks who are here to escape from their homes in Florida.
Not many times in history have there been 3 active hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean like there is today.

Thankfully they all so far have different track predictions.

As of this morning we are still in the bulls eye of hurricane Irma.

Our county manager declared a state of emergency for Henderson county this afternoon beginning after midnight tonight to kick the storm preparations into high gear.

Market was pretty slow today as expected making me very thankful for the one big order I had.

I left market and ran the regular in town errands and made it home at 4:00 with just enough time to get unloaded and get out to school to meet g-daughter I and daughter.

Another boring victory for the home team according to g-daughter I !!!!

I came home and watched the news then did chores and relaxed for the evening.
Hurricane Irma is barreling through the Islands leaving devastation in her wake as she sets new records for strength for the longest time. So far at least 12  people have lost their lives due to the storm as it has battered the Caribbean islands.
We are enjoying the beautiful cool pre hurricane weather.

Praying tonight for all the folks including us that are in the path of this historic storm. May we find safety in the loving arms of Jesus Christ our wonderful Savior.
God Bless and Good Night

RAINY WEDNESDAY

G-daughter R arrived first this morning at 7am and was excited to see her cousin g-daughter I come in right behind her.
It is a very rainy morning and raincoats were a must this morning !! G-son helps his little sisiter down the wet stairs at their house on the way up here.

 I did chores and had my breakfast before taking g-daughter R to pre-school at Mud Creek church.
It took me 20 minutes to make the drive and that was exactly how long it took to get her into the First Baptist school up town.
Thankfully this one starts at 8:45 so all the school traffic is done by the time we start out.
She was happy to be there and insisted in walking in and immediately started playing with another little girl.
I thank the Lord every day for her sweet social personality.
Back home g-daughter I was a little fussy this morning so we fixed her a bottle and after that she took a nap.
I started my baking , 6 caramel,3 chocolate, 2 pound and 1 blackberry wine cake. Tomorrow will be the beginning of the after holiday hang-over and sales will be very slow. Thankfully I have one 5 cake order to be picked up tomorrow.
Hubbie was busy with g-daughter I all morning as she only cat napped. He tried her in several different sleeping positions to no avail.
 I fixed her another bottle at noon and then she took a long good nap through the afternoon.

While she slept I sewed up this little white bonnet and repaired a stack of our clothing that had collected on my sewing table. I will need to cut out some more aprons and bonnets when I get a chance as this bonnet was the last of the previous cut-outs.

We have watched rain fall all day and the temperature stay in the upper 50's for a chilly day but finally late this afternoon the sun broke through for a little while and upper the temp into the lower 60's .
The rain gauge had 1& 3/4 inches in it after the overnight and all day rain .
Daughter had a doctor appointment this afternoon so she didn't get here until almost 4:00 and this little girl woke up from her long nap about 3:00 and drank 4 more ounces of milk. She must be going through a growth spurt.

When daughter got here I got ready to go back out to school with her and g-daughter I so I  could take care of g-daughter I while daughter kept the official score book for the JV game.
They were playing East Henderson High school and won pretty easily. G-daughter thought it was a boring game !!!

I got home a little after 6 and watched the hurricane news which isn't good for us it seems still.
Most of the tracks still have Irma coming straight up over us and could be very devastating for our mountains.

She is a huge storm at 400 miles wide with this comparison for perspective.

The predicted path is still unsure and if she jogs just slightly either way it could make a huge difference in our weather.
We did chores then I went to my office to get weekly paperwork and bills paid.
I spent the rest of the evening icing cakes and getting ready for market tomorrow. Hubbie stayed up and waited for me to finish getting all the racks filled so he could go ahead and load them in the Honda tonight as g-daughter R is coming in the morning for me to take her to school and she would be very curious about the contents of these racks.
We made it to bed about midnight.
I have got to figure out how to get an earlier bedtime as these short nights of sleep are catching up with me slowly but surely.
Thankful for the strength God gives us each day and for all the blessings of this day.
God Bless and Good Night.

BACK TO REALITY

Back in the routine this morning with the 7:15 arrival of g-daughter I.  G-daughter R isn't coming this morning as I have to be at the doctor at 9am to have my blood drawn for my annual physical so other g-ma is taking her to school this morning.
I hurried through chores and then headed over to Asheville to Dr. Vickory's . I got called back quickly and was out in about 10 minutes. Not a good blood stick this time leaving me with a sore bruised arm.

I made stops at the Biltmore House gatehouse for more wassail mix , Walmart for baking supplies and Southern States for chicken feed on the way home.  I made it home at 10:30.
Hubbie had tried to give g-daughter I her morning bottle but she had refused it .
I fixed her another bottle when I got home and she took that one. She must not have been hungry enough earlier.
She went to sleep after her bottle and I did some house cleaning before I left to pick up g-daughter R from her school.
She had another good day and was happy when I went in to get her . She went to sleep as soon as the Honda started moving !!
When we got home hubbie carried her in and put her in her bed to nap while we ate lunch.
We hadn't finished eating when she came sneaking into the kitchen wide awake and said she was hungry.
She ate a good lunch then played while I fixed g-daughter I another bottle which she promptly refused and went back to sleep.
After a 30 minute more nap she woke up hungry enough to take the bottle. So that made 6 ounces for her today.
They both pretty much rested all afternoon as the skies clouded up on this cooler mid 70's afternoon.

And this one went home and got dressed up for her 11 week picture this evening.

Hubbie and I did chores early to beat the storms and hard rains that began for the evening. G-son and g-daughter R came back to stay with us while mom went to the PTO meeting and dad finished work.
The thunder and lightening got really close and we thought some thing close must have been struck a couple times.
#1 son came after the kids and hubbie and I had a light supper.
The temps are about to feel really Fall like for the next couple days around here.

Another tropical storm was named today as Jose looks to follow Irma across the Atlantic.

Hurricane Irma is now a category 5 and is a huge storm churning past all the small islands.
Unfortunately for us most of the tracks have her coming right up over our area.

The last time a hurricane came this way it was in 2004 and we had devastating flooding and wind damage around here.
With rescues still going on in Texas this is going to be a major event and a historic double whammy for the United States. The next several days we are going to be watching very closely to pray that this storm might turn more easterly and head on back out to sea.
Thankful for my blessings of this day and praying for all the folks in the path of these storms.
God Bless and Good Night.