HURRY UP AND WAIT KIND OF FRIDAY

The temperature was 25 this morning and there was a thick layer of ice on all the water buckets that had to be broken.
The sun was shinning so after chores and breakfast I went on my morning walk. As I walked I noticed we are not the only thing having a confusing time dealing with this roller coaster weather of late.I hope this forsythia doesn't bloom itself out before next spring !

I saw several Violets blooming around the pastures today.

Also the Dandelions were poking their bright yellow heads through the brown leaves.

I was expecting to pick up daughter's mattress's this morning but when I called they weren't there yet. The truck was due in at 2:00.
I iced 6 caramel cakes and had lunch before heading up to work at church.
My work there was cut short when the contemporary band came in and started moving things around. I got aggravated and left. I don't know why I was surprised when they came in after all they have no respect for the church building,poking holes in walls, door facings and ruining the choir floor, they have no respect for the members of the original church who are footing all the bills,as they can't even wait on Sundays for us to exit the Sanctuary before they run in and start tearing things down and resetting for their service, so why would I even think they would respect the rule I requested that they stay clear of the Sanctuary on Fridays so that I could clean?? It's all about them and what they want, when they want it. I'm fighting the urge to find another church myself right now.
To make my afternoon even longer when I got over to the furniture warehouse to pick up the mattress's at 2:30 they were just unloading the truck so I had to wait almost an hour before they loaded them onto my truck.
As they loaded them I realized I was going to have to figure out how to use Hubbie's rachet tie downs. After several long cold minutes I got it figured out and had them tied down securely for the trip across the mountain.
I parked the truck and took the van over to the estate sale to meet daughter. I didn't find anything but a storage cabinet full of hooks and hangers that I'm always looking for.
Daughter found several baking dishes and household goods.
I came home and did the evening chores and hubbie and I had a soup and salad supper.
Then we headed over to daughter's to deliver her new mattress's.We found her busily baking in her kitchen. I envy that large storage pantry at the end of the room.
I love her chicken coop coffee table.

She found this old chair at a garage sale, the seller thought it was a birthing chair but it doesn't look like the birthing chairs I've seen. It has a very narrow ornately carved back and a small triangular seat, daughter reupholstered the seat.We would welcome any ideas of anyone who has one of these chairs or knows anything about it.
As we came home tonight the sky was so full of stars and the moon was shining as bright as the sun has shone all day. It will be another clear, cold night for sure.
The high temperature today didn't quite make 50 .
I wrapped all the cakes for market and made the 7-layer salad for tomorrow night's family gathering before taking a blogging break.
I pray that God takes control of our church right now and I pray for an amicable resolutions to our conflicts.
I've just got to figure out if this burning ache I have in my heart right now is the old devil trying to sway my faith or if it is truly the conviction of God. Pray for me !!
Good Night and God Bless.

SLOW MARKET,THANKSGIVING PLANS

Had a hectic morning to get started today. Can't really explain why, some mornings are just more difficult than others for me to get started.I got the chores done and the van loaded without incident and wound up only 10 minutes late getting to market.
About mid morning I remembered I forgot to let Louie the calf out but luckily I had told #1son the other night to refill his inside water bucket just in case I forgot to let him out one morning. Yea , I know myself pretty well,hahahaha !!!!

The wind is blowing so hard it was very hard to even hold the door open while I got my things in .

Market was pretty slow today as I expected. I spent most of the morning catching up with reading my blogs and making list for grocery supplies for the Thanksgiving meals in the next week.
Starting Saturday night it's hubbie's side of the family dinner, next Wednesday night is the church dinner for the community members who will not be having a dinner of their own this year, then of course it's our family dinner on Thursday,whew !!! Mix all those in with a long list of cake orders for Saturday and Tuesday and Curb Market Old Timey Christmas open house next Saturday and whew !!!! Hopefully when the dust settles from all this I can get in the Christmas spirit !!!

After market I ran regular errands and then shopped for baking supplies as well as Thanksgiving meals supplies. I had a van load and got home around 4:30.
Man this wind is cold,brrrr, as I did the evening chores I was shivering. I know 39 degrees isn't that cold , but just yesterday it was like 64 at this time so this is a shock to the system.
It looks like the temperature roller coaster ride is going to continue as you can see in this 7-day forecast.At least Thanksgiving day will seem seasonally cool. Some years we can eat our turkey out on the patio in short sleeves.
Daughter came by this evening and helped as we loaded up the old bedroom set and got it set up over at her house.
The washer and dryer will make the trip this weekend and that is all the furniture over there.
I'm hoping to get a deal on a new washer/dryer next week for me.
When hubbie and I finally got home tonight all I wanted to do was snuggle on the couch with my 4-legged kids so the baking and icing can wait until in the morning.
I am yawning with each breath at 11:00 tonight and the cold temperature,already 32, along with a still very brisk wind outside makes it feel like a good night to snuggle under the warm covers for a long winter's nap !!
Remember God loves you !
Good night and God Bless.

WARM TEMPERATURES BRING SPRING LIKE STORMS

Woke to the sound of rain on the roof. I waited for a break to do the morning chores,the animals didn't seem to mind staying shut up in their dry warm houses a few minutes longer this morning.
I have been looking at a box of Red Delicious apples for a while now and knowing they are not a good keeping variety decided to put them in the freezer this morning before they got any softer.
These are one of my favorite eating apples but true to their variety these were getting very mushy.I used my apple corer and slicer and left the peeling on the slices for added vitamins.

I put the slices in a shaker bag and added cinnamon and a dash of allspice ,shook them until all the pieces were coated and then put them into a freezer bag. I had enough for 6 bags and 1 bag without spices just in case I want them for something else.
After smelling these delicious apples I had to bake a pan for lunch.Just add butter and you are ready to bake with or without a crust, mmmm they were good.
I also iced 6 caramel cakes before lunch and set a time for delivery of 2 cake orders this afternoon.
After the delivery I stopped at Ingles for a couple things and then headed home to clean my floors and sweep some leaves off the porches.
The clouds were getting darker and darker as I drove home.
I just made it inside when the rain started and the wind was howling.There was almost as many leaves raining down as there was water. I tried to get a picture of the leaves falling but they must have been too fast for my camera.
Areas south of us had tornadoes touch down but thankfully we only had the rain and wind. We only got a little over an inch of rain but it was the wind that did most of the damage. There are not many leaves left on any trees this evening.
Remember this burning bush from yesterday ??Well this is the same bush this evening !!!!
While all this was going on I worked downstairs. I re-arranged a couple of cabinets and found new places for some other things.
It will be nice to have the extra space downstairs to move my sewing machines inside and also get some exercise equipment for hubbie and me.
The storms had passed by the time it was chore time this evening. All the places we raked leaves from Monday are covered more deeply now than they were before so more raking will be on the to do list.
After supper I figured bills and did paperwork for the week then watched Survivor on TV.
Sis-in-law called and we put together a menu for our family Thanksgiving dinner Saturday night. It's nice to have all these grown children contributing now so we don't have to do it all.
I iced chocolate and coconut cakes tonight.
It is almost midnight and I'm headed to bed.
Thankful to God tonight for the blessings of today and saying a prayer for the folks affected by the storms this afternoon.
Good Night and God Bless.

A FACE IN THE CLOUDS

Another unseasonably warm morning. Dressed only in pants and a t-shirt I did the morning chores then took a nice long walk.
As I walked the sun was watching me while trying to break through the clouds. Do you see the face ??? I didn't notice it until I downloaded it tonight.
All morning I dreaded hearing my phone ring but thanks to prayers from several folks I received no phone call about my mammography yesterday so with my past experience I am breathing a guarded sigh of relief.
I started a load of laundry and then iced 6 caramel cakes. I did house cleaning and laundry most of the day. While it looked like it could rain any minute outside I did get to open all the doors and windows to enjoy this afternoon's 70 degree temperatures. It is only supposed to be mid 50's for a low tonight so I'm leaving the heat pump off.
Daughter came by after work for another load of her stuff.
While I did evening chores it looked like it was raining leaves instead of water. With the wind we are having all the places we raked yesterday are now covered in leaves again.

These Burning Bushes are really showing off this year.
We are supposed to get rain tonight and tomorrow and we badly need it to dampen all the dry leaves now on the ground.
Daughter took some pans and other things to do her baking at her house and I have felt strange all evening not having her banging around in the kitchen.
Hubbie and I watched the Duke b-ball game on TV while we took a break. I was going to start cleaning my wooden cabinets in the kitchen but forgot I left my Murphy's Oil Soap at daughters.
I iced 6 more caramel cakes and it seemed like I needed to do something else but I can't think of what it is.
I am alternating cleaning and re-arranging downstairs with my pre-holiday cleaning in the kitchen to hopefully get both done before time to put up Christmas decorations.

This Christmas cactus was an anniversary gift from the kids on our 30th anniversary in December 2009. It's not going to wait until Christmas this year to put on it's beautiful blooms.
It's hard for me to imagine this huge cactus was only this size just 2 short years ago.
However it did bloom at Christmas in 2009. I know there is a routine to do to make it bloom at Christmas but with all the decorations it wouldn't get noticed like it does now.
Well it's 11:00 and time for the news to close out another day.
God is a wonderful loving Father and showers blessings down each day, we have only to bask in His love.
Good Night and God Bless.

YEARLY MAMMOGRAM MAKES ME NERVOUS

This morning felt more like a warm spring morning than an almost winter morning !!
The low temperature this morning was 54 degrees!
Hubbie took g-son to pre school while I did chores and then we had breakfast before tackling our leaf raking duty.
We both kept saying we thought there were more leaves this year and there are still many still hanging on to the trees. We accomplished getting the closest ones to the house raked off into the woods , but more raking and blowing will be required to get the entire yard free of most of the leaf cover.
After we picked up g-son we stopped by Sam's and Walmart for things and then came home.
I put in an Avon order today and moved a couple more things around downstairs.
I had my yearly mammogram appointment this afternoon so as soon as d-in-love picked up g-son I headed to that.As you enter the center you go down this long hallway lined with pictures and experiences of cancer survivors and victims.

At the end of the hall is this beautiful hand quilted quilt.

A lady I know did my exam and she already told me she saw something in one of my breast. I just pray that it is the lypoma they already found a couple years ago. I know I'll dread hearing the phone ring in the morning.

Back in the dressing room this sign kind of jumped off the wall at me, and I definitely do believe in Angels !!!
Back home daughter had stopped by for her computer mouse that she forgot yesterday and a couple things she had asked for from Sams.
I did chores before dark and enjoyed another beautiful sunset.
It has been a nice sunny 70 degree day today.
I got started baking early tonight with a bunch of orders already for this week.
I baked 58 layers and a couple pound cakes.
As I listen to the news tonight they announced the winners for this year's gingerbread house competition. I've posted in the past about how the house has been lost but at least some of this years winners have somewhat of a house theme.The over all winner was this shoe house.
At least if your the little old lady that lived in a shoe and had so many children she didn't know what to do type this would qualify for a gingerbread house !
This one is more my idea of a gingerbread house.
Although I guess it's really a clock !!!
Of course there were all kinds of designs and creations from people from all over the country who came to Asheville to compete at the Grove Park Inn.

Asking God for comfort if that phone call comes in the morning and thanking Him for the blessings of this day.
Good Night and God Bless.

CLOUDY SUNDAY

A huge swing in temperature set this morning's low at 42 degrees, 20 degrees higher than just yesterday morning. What they say about weather here in these mountains is surely true, "if you don't like the weather just wait a few minutes and it will change" .
Had a nice service at church today. I surprised a couple who celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary yesterday with a caramel cake this morning.
After church we had lunch with everyone but d-in-love who is working.
We tried the smoked pork chops I had gotten at the meat market and they were sure good.
After lunch daughter and I with the help of #2 son got out my old bedroom suit so we could clean it up.

Head board
Dresser
chest of drawers
And foot board all were very dusty and needed a good cleaning.
Daughter used a strong cleaner and I came behind her and used a polish and scratch filler. We did create a strong smell as we worked for over an hour on all 4 pieces. She decided to leave them here for a few days to air out.
While we worked inside Hubbie was on the roof blowing leaves out of the gutters before the predicted rain gets here.
When we finished the furniture cleaning I helped her pack up some more things and hubbie went with her to take the lower element out of her oven to see if he can find a new one for it.
I stayed here and watched the basketball game between UNCA and UNC. UNCA built a new arena and since this is UNC coach Roy William's home he brought his #1 ranked Tar Heels up to help open the new facility. They played in front of a sell-out crowd. Daughter is an alumni from UNCA and could have gotten discount tickets but even they cost $50 each. So we will just watch on TV !!Coach Roy directs his point guard.

This looks like a beautiful arena, much nicer than the one #2 son played in when he was in college and played against UNCA and beat them when he was a freshman at Montreat College.
During the ball game I did chores and watched the gorgeous sunset this evening.
UNC Tar Heels won the game 91-75 but it was a very good game.
Today has been a cloudy day with a temperature of 57 degrees.
But clouds do make for colorful sunsets.Hubbie and I worked downstairs re-arranging some tonight before calling it a day I have to get my Avon orders posted.
God is good all the time , all the time God is good.
Good Night and God Bless.

SLOW MARKET AND 1991 DECADE PICTURES

BRRRRRR!!!!!, Coldest morning of the season so far at 22 degrees there was a lot of ice on the water buckets today.
G-son was awake and up with us early but was content to stay inside and have waffles while we did chores outside. He did want to go help let "Louie" the calf out in the pasture.
We made it to market only a few minutes late and had only one customer waiting on some drying sage.
G-son was a big help re-stacking my cake carrying crates. He and Pawpaw walked up to the library for a little while but a quite place is not where g-son wants to be for long.
When they got back to market Aunt T was there and the games began.
As you can tell by the empty market isle today was a very slow day but we had enough orders to be thankful for.
Daughter's first night in her house went well, except she forgot to turn her heat up and when her nose got icey she had to get up and turn it up from 60 to 68.
Her dishwasher is back working today and hubbie left going over to replace her shower head that sprayed water straight out instead of down last night.
#1 son came after g-son, he didn't get a deer this morning but his friend did.
After they left daughter and I chatted until closing time.
She went to look for some bathroom rugs and get some groceries and I came straight home.
I unloaded the van since hubbie is still working at daughters and had a snack.
Hubbie came home and we decided to rest for awhile as we are both tired. But our rest was short as #2 son called wanting to go ahead and move daughter's big heavy couch because he might play golf tomorrow. So he ,#1 son and hubbie loaded the couch in the truck and several other things in the van and we headed over to her house.
We moved the couch a couple times until she found the right spot then we left to get home to the chores which had to be done by flashlight.
#1 son was selling a backhoe bucket and hubbie had to get the tractor out to help load it.
About 8:00 we finally got to veg out a while in front of the TV. Then I got a call from sis-in-law to arrange our family Thanksgiving dinner next weekend.
She also gave me the news that her brother and his wife are expecting another baby next July.

The decade pictures for November 1991 sure bring back memories.

Hubbie and I were both Cub Scout officials with our two boys, 2nd and 3rd in line as they wait to present the flag at the PTO program.That skinny man in the tan boots walking toward the boys is hubbie.

This is #1 son in his 4th grade photo.

#2 son was in the 3rd grade that year.

And daughter was in 1st grade.

Each time I look at these pictures I can't believe that it has been 20 years since these pics were made.
It isn't suppose to be as cold tonight as it was last night and at 10:00 it is still 38 after a sunny day with temperatures reaching into the lower 60's.
With a few wispy clouds around this is sunset from the red light at the end of the road I live on.
We are building a fire in our down stairs wood stove every night now even with daughter gone because it still keeps the heat pump from running all night.
I am going to get to bed early tonight to rest up for another busy day tomorrow.
Grateful to God for His never ending love and comfort.
Good Night and God Bless.