REV. BILLY GRAHAM MOVES INTO HEAVEN TODAY

Up to another believe it or not rainy morning. As I put on rain gear to go out and get the chores done I wondered if this light rain would go away like yesterdays or get heavier as the day went on ?
When this is the temperature at 8:30 in the morning in February you know it is not a normal February!

RL acted like she really didn't feel well this morning on the way to pre-school. I asked her if anything hurt as I named all the body parts and she answered no to everything. I carried her into her class and gave the teacher a heads up on what was going on and she  said she would watch her closely because they had 3 kids in the class that have tested positive for the flu, uhhhhh !!!
I came home and had breakfast. Then my day went pretty haywire !!!
Hubbie who has been fighting loosing his voice and coughing badly for the third time in less than a month decided he needed to go to the minit clinic this morning.
I sat g-daughter IR in her bouncy seat and started finishing #2 son's taxes. I got everything done and thought things were going great until I started printing the return and after 2 of the 9 pages my printer started printing in the invisible ink again. It did this a couple weeks ago and I cleaned the heads and it started working again until now.
I cleaned the heads again and did some other things that the instructions said to do. I went online and got some different ideas for things to do but nothing worked this time. I've had this printer for a number of years so I guess when I get time later today I'll go get another printer.
Hubbie spent well over an hour to find out he must have a sinus infection because all the other test were negative so at least he got some antibiotics to hopefully help him kick whatever he has for good.
When he got home I was feeding IR and he ate his lunch then took over her care so I could get my baking done early today.
I wasn't hungry from the aggravating morning so I started baking. I baked 6 caramel, 1 pound , 1 blackberry wine and a pan of brownies.
As soon as I got the last cakes out of the ovens I went to Staples to get a new printer. They didn't have a printer that used the same ink that I had just bought which was disappointing since it cost $70 but they had a nice little Brother printer on sale for $49 and the ink for it was much cheaper.

Daughter had gone to pick up her hopefully fixed Equinox and waited for me to get home from Staples to help hook up the printer and it's a good thing she did because when the guy told me how simple installation was I became worried !!!!
 And I don't think I would have found the hook up inside the printer for the cord to hardwire it to my computer when daughter said she had never seen that place for a wire hook up.
Anyway we got it working and now #2 son's taxes are finished and printed !!!
Daughter and IR went home and hubbie and I went out to get the chores done. There was another beautiful sunset tonight with the clouds that hung around most of the day. The light rain of the morning left another 1/10th rain in the gauge.

The big news of this day is the passing of Rev. Billy Graham. He brought numerous folks to know Jesus Christ and will go in history as the greatest messengers on mission for God that has ever lived .

This is what he had to say about this day.

Prayers for his family tonight but I'm sure they are celebrating his homecoming today as he is now in the company of the God that he has lead millions of folks to aver his lifetime.

Thankful to have lived in a time hearing this man's words of wisdom and guidance and watching his devotion and love for God .

God Bless and Good Night

OUTSIDE PLAYTIME IN THE VERY NICE WARM DAY

UHHHHH !!!!  Waking up to another rainy morning as I sloshed out to get the chores done.
I took RL to pre-school and stopped by the bank to get some info on logging into an online account.
Had a nice visit with Rhondria, one of daughter's closest friends .
I made it home just as IR was waking up for her breakfast. Daughter said earlier that she wouldn't go to sleep last night until after midnight so I guess she was tired this morning.
After both of us had our breakfast I worked on taxes until it was time to pick up RL. Hubbie and IR went along too as we need to drive over to Southern States to pick up chicken feed.
Both girls slept all the way there and back and almost through the unloading process until IR woke up screaming for some unknown reason and woke RL up.
We came inside and we all had lunch which made everyone feel better.
After lunch we just had to get outside in the beautiful day as the clouds have given way to spurts of sunshine and almost 70 degrees.
The girls were pretty happy about being outside for a change and not having to be bundled up in coats.

All the Daffodils have suddenly burst into bloom this week.

Loving to swing in the warm afternoon.

Tipper, daughter's dog and IR looking like she's not sure what to think about her.

More swinging.......

After a long play time outside the sun disappeared behind a big cloud and a cool breeze ran us inside for snacks and rest time until mom's made it here to pick the girls up.
Daughter went to pick up her Equinox but after she talked with the owner of the business she bought it from he decided to keep it one more day and check for more leaks.
Hubbie and I watched the early news and had a visit with #2 son who came after a battery voltage meter to check the battery in Tif's jeep.
We did chores without coveralls or jackets this evening and watched a beautiful sunset.

Thankful for the clear sky and sunshine today which seem to make both of us feel much better of our colds.
This little girl turned a big 8 months old today, she has 6 teeth and loves eating all kinds of food and is growing like a weed.

Thankful for the blessings that this day held and for the love of Jesus Christ .

God Bless and Good Night

DREARY MONDAY and 2008 PICS

Another rainy , dreary Monday morning. I am beginning to feel moldy with all these rainy days.
RL was the only g-daughter this morning as daughter didn't feel well yesterday and woke up this morning at 1:30 with body aches and a very painful sore throat and didn't work today.
I did chores and took RL to pre-school. I stopped at daughter's and picked up IR on my way home so daughter could go to minit clinic and take her SUV to the shop for the water leak it has.
IR watched me have my breakfast then I fed her.
I got laundry started while hubbie, who doesn't feel well again and has that nasty cough back, played with IR.
Daughter drove up in a new Impala that they gave her to drive while hers is being fixed.
She ate some left overs for lunch and took the antibiotic they gave her. Her flu test and strep throat test were negative but the doctor said she thinks she has a sinus infection. And maybe an early strep throat that the meds would take care of also.
She rode with us to go pick up RL while IR took a nap on the way. RL was surprised to see her aunt T along with me to pick her up.
She ate her chicken nuggets and then went right to sleep as soon as we started moving.
We came home and daughter and IR went home to get a nap in this afternoon.
I did more laundry while RL and hubbie slept this afternoon.
When she woke up I played with her as hubbie still doesn't feel good until d-in-love came to pick her up. The day has been pretty nasty with a drizzle that left only 1/10ths inch in the gauge but made the mid 50's temps feel really cool.
We did  chores and then settled in for the evening to rest up for another day.
To finish up the decade series for this month I found some February 2008 pics of a skiing trip that all three of the kids went on with some of daughter's co-workers and friends at the WLOS TV station she worked in at that time.
In this first pic starting from the left was a friend and co-worked Suzanne and her husband, #2 son and daughter, #1 son and d-in-love and another of friend and co-worker.

#1 son and d-in-love

Daughter in white vest  and friend

And this is a photo of g-son at that time .

Each month I am reminded how glad I am to have started these decade pics as I am reminded of the kids and g-kids earlier years and activities.

Thankful for the blessings of this day.

God Bless and Good Night

BEAUTIFUL SUNDAY

Up earlier this morning so I could fix a squash casserole to go with the beef stew for lunch. I canned some yellow squash when I needed to fill up a pressure canner of green beans last summer and I needed to use them so I googled a gluten free recipe for a squash casserole and came up with this one that turned our awesome and was so easy  !!!

I put it in the oven then went out to get the chores done and even had time to fix some eggs for breakfast when I got back inside.

We got ready for church and today was our quarterly nursery duty with #1 son.

We had an easy time today with only 3 little ones and one of them went to sleep and slept most of the time we were there.

We came home and had lunch with #1 son and Aa's family. G-son went home from church with a friend and d-in-love took RL home for an early nap.

The kids played outside for awhile in a really nice sunny low 60's afternoon before they headed home for their naps.

This is EL blowing bubbles as CO swings by.

After everyone left hubbie and I worked on fixing the green house hens an outside lot beside the green house so they could get out of the heat inside.

We worked until chore time so I will add the finishing touches tomorrow and make a pic.

While we worked I noticed the beautiful blue sky and the wispy clouds as the sun went down.

This is the little red Silkie that is sitting on 13 Silkie eggs in her brooder box. She is one of my biggest hens so I think she can cover this many small eggs.

After chores we came inside and had some left overs for supper before settling in for a restful evening.

Talked to daughter tonight and she is taking her car to the shop tomorrow for them to fix a water leak which filled her front floor boards with rain water. This is a typical Chevy Equinox problem according to how many folks are having the same problem with this vehicle on the internet.

Thankful for the blessings of this day and for the freedom to worship as we please with our church family.

God Bless and Good Night.

ANOTHER RAINY MARKET DAY

Saturday market day and another rainy Saturday !!!
Out to get the chores done between showers and then off to market.
As we got closer to town the rain got heavier but when we got there a couple egg customers were waiting. Thankful for eggs to sell or these days would be pretty empty of sales.
I am however thankful for what I do sell on these days as today I did sell a couple caramel cakes, breads and cake halves and quarters to make about a $65 day.
Hubbie stayed and helped with the table while I exchanged a stock for a stock holder after the death of her mother.
He started talking to some friends and ended up staying the entire market time with me.
We loaded in a heavy rain shower and headed home without any stops in the rain.
We need to decide what we are cooking for lunch tomorrow and maybe go back to Ingles later tonight.
At home we had a cup of the vegetable beef soup that the manager's daughter sells at market for a late, late lunch and then relaxed for a rainy afternoon.
Daughter and d-in-love went to the Wee Trade sale last night and daughter picked up IR a walker the same as mine and she was enjoying it on a rainy inside day.

RL was also happy with her mom's purchase as she played with this doll house for hours today.

G-son didn't get left out either as d-in-love found him a new Operation game.
Hubbie and I got the evening chores done in a light rain and then made a trip to Ingles to get some groceries and items for tomorrow's lunch.
After we got everything put away we settled in to watch the UNC / Louisville basketball game.
The weather isn't looking like it will improve much for us in the coming week with the "N" winter storm Noah dropping today's rain .

Quickly followed by the "O" winter storm Oliver that was named today promising more rain by the middle of the week for us.

I guess the good in all this moisture is that it isn't snow or ice like some of the country is getting with these one right after the other storms.
Thankful for the blessings of this day and for the love of Jesus Christ my Wonderful, Graceful Savior.
God Bless and Good Night.

NEW BABY GOATS AND FRIST SETTER OF THE YEAR

Friday mornings are always seemingly calm after our hectic Thursdays. Today RL was hard to get along with but she settled down on the way to school and was fine when we got there.
I came back home to a waiting for her breakfast IR and then I had my breakfast.
I was hungrier than usual today so I had eggs, grits and bacon for my energy boost for the day.
I cleaned house all morning until it was time for me to get ready for my yearly mammogram appointment. I am going to one of the facilities in Asheville this year so I can get the 3-D imaging.
I left early enough to locate the place in the downtown section of Biltmore Park Village.
I was in and out quickly after a pretty rough session of more intense squeezing than normal but I have found that each tech has a different technique and some are rougher than others.
Saying a prayer that my images will match the previous ones and there will be no call back.
I made a stop at a new thrift shop on my way home that had a big 50% off sale and found a couple things I couldn't live without for a big total of $9.
I made it home just in time to fix a bottle for IR's afternoon feeding  before I had a late lunch.
It is a nice warm day again today and even with the could cover we soared to a new record high for the second day in a row.

Unfortunately with the timing of my mammogram I missed g-son's award ceremony today. He made A honor roll and got the semester most improved student award in his class. We are all very proud of him.

Hubbie and IR took a nap after lunch and I washed windows and then relaxed out in the sunroom with the door open enjoying the fresh warm breeze coming in.
When daughter came in she and I rode over to Re's house to check out her new baby goats. She has some Nigerian Dwarf goats and this was the first to have babies. She had 4 little ones and they are all so adorable. AD definitely has a knack for goat kid mothering !!!!

EL held one just for a little bit and CO and BB didn't want to hold the squirmy, bleating little babies just yet.

And of course daughter fell in love all over again and I'm sure she had flashback memories of her days with our baby goats when she was younger.

Re put sock coats on all of them to help keep them warm overnight in case they wander out from under the heat lamp in the upper 30's temps predicted for the next couple nights.

Can't wait until they get a little bigger and we can make pics with IR and RL with them.

Daughter and I came home just as it started to sprinkle rain.

She went home and hubbie and I watched the news and waited for the rain shower to pass.

We got chores done thankfully without rain gear and then I got the first Silkie setter put in one of the brooder boxes and nicely snuggled down in fresh hay with all Silkie eggs under her so I will hopefully have chicks to sell in early spring. I will add tomorrow's eggs to the 7 she had today and she'll be set for the next 21 days of waiting !!

We came inside and relaxed for the evening.

With the prediction of the colder overnight and rainy Saturday I decided not to bake anything else tonight. This is still the week after a sweet filled Valentines day and I don't think there will be many customers at market tomorrow.

It feels strange to have a baking free Friday night and I just hope I don't regret my decision tomorrow.

Thankful for the blessings of this day and praying for a clear mammogram . Also still sending prayers to the families of the victims of the Florida high school shooting.

God Bless and Good Night

RECORD WARM DAY

Up and at it early this morning to get everything done and get the girls loaded and get to market on time.
It is a very foggy morning as we headed out !!!

Dropped RL at pre-school and IR and I made it to market early. Hubbie was already there and we got unloaded and set up while IR slept.
We woke her up and fed her breakfast because Connie her other g-ma has to drive right back down to Green Creek in Polk county to meet with a cabinet maker at her new house hoping IR would sleep through the meeting.
After she left with her hubbie visited with some friends then left to get his errands done and get the tires rotated on his truck.
I had a very slow day today as expected only selling a couple 1/4 cakes and some brownies but I did sell all my eggs today which made for an over $40 day.
Hubbie came back to market and brought our lunch of a sub sandwich about 1:00. We have a meeting at the bank at 2:00 so he hung around and helped me load back up and then went to our meeting.
After the bank business was done he left to make a stop at Sam's Club and I made stops at Sav Mor and Aldi for baking supplies and groceries.
He beat me home and helped daughter load Tipper her dog who is staying with us up for a vet appointment. Tipper is having ear troubles again.
He helped me unload and get things put away when I got home and then we rested and watched the early news until daughter got back with Tipper. The vet gave her 3 meds and a shot her poor ears were so infected. She thinks it is a food allergy maybe so daughter picked her up some different food on the way back here with her.
We went outside in the record breaking 79 degree temps in our shirt sleeves to do chores this evening!

Hubbie fed the cattle another roll of hay since Aa isn't going to get in from his trip to Arizona to a sod grass convention until later tonight.
G-son and G-daughter RL came to stay tonight while their mom went to music practice at church until their dad got home from work.
RL loved the warm evening outside with us finishing the chores.
Just after a couple days of the warmer than normal temps there is a lot of green things popping up such as these Chives in this pot .

And maybe it's just my longing this year for a warm spring but even the lawn and pasture grass seem to have more green today !!!

After #1 son picked the kids up hubbie watched the first Nascar race on TV so I blogged early through my continuous yawns and headed for an early bath and bedtime.
My thoughts and prayers go all the way south tonight to Parkland, Florida to the families and friends of the 17 victims of the another senseless school shooting at a high school yesterday.

Terrified students file by police offices with their hands up and visible.

A former 19 year old student at this high school who was kicked out brought an AR-15 assault riffle into the school and opened fire apparently randomly killing 2 teachers and 15 students and sending 14 more injured to area hospitals. 

What happens in the minds of these young men that make them take their anger out on innocent school staff and students is a mystery that probably will never be solved. 

The answer to this in my opinion has nothing to do with gun control, guns are everywhere and anyone who has enough money can get hold of these guns so we need to recognize the need for more mental health treatment and more education to recognize mental problems when they occur.

When Obama care was voted in mental health clinics and hospitals took a major hit and many closed leaving no one to deal with this problem in many places. We need to focus more on these needs and hopefully recognize more of these tendencies before they become mass killings.

I'll get off my soapbox now !!

I pray for the families of these high school students who had their lives cut so senselessly short and I pray for all our school staff and students that these shootings may be caught and stopped before anyone loses their life.

We need to get God back into our schools !!!!

Thankful for the blessings of this day and bathing my mammogram appointment for tomorrow in prayer tonight that it will be a clear one this year.

God Bless and Good Night.