TANGER OUTLET DAY

Woke to cloudy skies this am.  Cloudy skies at the beach mean today is a shopping trip day for us.  I ate breakfast then sat outside while everyone else got up and started stirring around. The Tanger Outlet center doesn't open until 10 so we were going to wait until Evy had her morning nap. G-son wanted to go in the ocean so hubbie and #2 son went with him.  He didn't stay long as his legs are raw from yesterday and started burning as soon as the salt water hit them.  Daughter and I went to the bank to do our weekly banking business as our bank has a branch near by.
Evy had different ideas about nap time so when we got back everyone was ready to go to the outlets. There is a Five Guys place there that has really good hamburgers and fries so we went there for lunch. Part of the group looking happy about to be shopping !!!!

We ate then shopped for a couple hours.  None of us found any of the great deals we usually do.  For me I did get several pairs of my favorite Cold Water Creek jeans as the store was closing and had deep discounts but the other outlet I always love down here, Bon Worth, was gone. I did get some more of my Clinique make-up at the cosmetic outlet store. Daughter found a couple dresses to wear to work and  we all got a pair of new shoes.
G-son got  a caricature of himself while we were there.

Evy got tired around 3 and d-in-love didn't feel well so they left leaving hubbie,daughter, #2 son and I to shop as long as we wanted.
Our legs wore out about an hour later and we came back to the beach house.
D-in-love and Rebekah had supper almost ready when we got here. Taco night really hit the spot, thanks girls ! We stopped and picked up paper plates and cups as the dishwasher must have been wired in with the shorted out garbage disposal and now it doesn't work,grrrrrrr. 
We have rented beach houses for 12 years and I have never had to call maintenance but this house is a nightmare so far.  We really don't want to have to deal with more repairmen so we will just use throw away things.
There is tiny little ants on the counter tops and the air conditioning stinks,it is either too cold or too hot, we can never get it set at a comfortable temp.
A storm was brewing as we ate supper and when the sun came out I went out on the deck to find the rainbow, hoping it would be over the ocean, and there was a double beauty.

G-son and Evy playing in the drips of water coming off the porch.

We got a sprinkle of rain then the storm moved out to sea so daughter and I walked to the end of the island.

It is a shame how much of this island has washed away leaving houses completely gone or majorly damaged all along the beach.

As we turned around to head back the storm seemed to intensify and the sky over the ocean looked so mean compared to the beautiful azure blue sky over land.

I love the panarama button on my smart phone !!!

We made it back and then sat out on the porch to watch a grand lightening display out over the ocean I tried to catch the lightening in a picture but this flash was the best I got.

Everyone watched a movie tonight while I blogged and caught up on some reading. 
The second day of Ocean Isle vacation 2014 ends with another beautiful sunset over the bay.

Grateful to God for another day of family, love and safety in His loving arms.
Good Night and God Bless

DAY ONE AT OCEAN ISLE BEACH

Day one of this vacation started very very early for me unfortunately. At about 4am I woke up with an aching back.  Guess that's what happens when you get used to sleeping on a memory foam mattress !!
I tried everything I knew to get comfortable enough to go back to sleep to no avail.
Finally around 7am I got up, hoping that this was late enough not to disturb anyone.
Hubbie who is an early riser anyway got up also.  We were just getting breakfast when daughter came out of her and g-son's bedroom.  Shortly Rebekah and Evy came up then #2 son and g-son. We all had eggs, bacon and waffles for breakfast. #1 son  and d-in-love slept in awhile this morning.
We made out a shopping list while we ate.  #2 son always pays for groceries so he gave money to daughter. #1 son and d-in-love who were now up went with her as well as Rebekah.  Hubbie and #2 son rode bikes around the end of the island while I stayed in the house with g-son and Evy who was taking a morning nap already. She is really pooped out from yesterday.
I thought a good thing for me to do would be to clean the kitchen while everyone was out so I started washing some of the pots in the sink when I felt a strange stinging feeling in my left hand as the water ran over it. I reached to turn the water off with my right hand and "zap"  I got a real shock.  I felt the electric currant go through my body. It scared me and it hurt so bad, then I got mad.  I called the realty's after hours emergency line and they said they would get an electrician over here soon. When hubbie and #2 son got back from their bike ride I was still stinging from the currant and as #2 son tried to find out what caused it he got a shock. So the kitchen sink is off limits for a while.
Hubbie and #2 son went out to sit on the beach.

 G-son of course couldn't stand not getting in the ocean so off he went after I got him lathered up with sunscreen.

When the others got back from Walmart and we all had lunch before hitting the beach for the afternoon.

G-son is old hat at wave jumping now and dives under water through them as they break over his head.

 He still likes the buggy board .

Little Evy was timid at first but soon warmed right up and wasn't scared of the waves breaking at all.

They both had a blast and that makes the money and the long ride here all very much worth it.

These smiles say it all !!!

We came in for a spaghetti supper tonight and checked out each others sunburns.  Luckily no one is hurting tonight from too much sun.
The day was slightly overcast thankfully making the 93 degree temp. feel not so oppressive.
After supper hubbie, daughter, #2 son and I all took a bike ride to do some exploring.  Daughter led us out a pathway through the marsh.

This is a little park on the canal and the sunset was beautiful tonight over the intercoastal waterway.

When we got back to the house #1 son was already on the beach fishing.

Hubbie joined him for a while but the wind got so hard they both had to call it a night before they caught anything.  I took Bernie and Dolly out for a walk down the beach and had to turn around because the sand felt like it was sand blasting us.
All had a relaxing night tonight. We are all still tired from a restless first night of sleep at a different house.
Grateful to God for the beautiful day and for the protective hand He keeps around all His children tonight.
Good Night and God Bless

TRAVEL DAY

Vacation time is finally here but first there is some business to take of. #2 son is playing golf in the charity golf tournament this morning to  raise money for a scholarship in honor of my cousin and high school basketball coach who passed away several years ago so he and daughter are not leaving until mid afternoon so she is at the Curb Market selling blackberries she picked yesterday. I had hired a friend, Georgia Rhodes to take care of my baked goods before I knew daughter would be here so they both will handle our stand today.
Hubbie and I got up at 7am to get things loaded in his truck and get the tables at market set up for them to sell.
We left market at about 8:45 to come home and do morning chores.
I got everything fed, watered and put extra feed out while hubbie sprayed our tomatoes with a fungicide to hopefully keep them healthy until we get back. Things are so damp it is hard to combat mildew right now on everything.
We finally were ready to leave at about 10:40.
Traffic was pretty light as we started down the mountain.

Hubbie drives and I ride on these trips.  We take are 4-legged kids and they love riding in my lap and beside me. I am also our navigator with a map in hand and my smart phone to get us around any jams we might encounter.
We were delayed several times by traffic back-ups, had to take a detour around a bridge repair, missed a turn and had to backtrack through the middle of Whiteville which thankfully is a fairly small town, then had to finally get on the internet of my smart phone to get final directions to get to the island.  I usually have a map printed off to use when we get closer but didn't have time this time, so thankful for Cirri or how ever you spell that on the I-phone.
We ran into a major traffic jam getting onto the island but I think all the red lights were out and policemen were directing traffic which slowed the flow. This is the intercoastal waterway as we crossed the bridge onto the island.

 We got to the house around 5:30.There is a huge beach in front of it.

It is not near as nice as the pictures made it look and for the first time since I have been renting these houses I am disappointed. I guess part of the problem is that the back beach walk way must have washed away in the hurricane that came up the coast a couple weeks ago leaving steep stairs to get down to the beach.
We will make the best of the situation and there are some pleasant surprises as it has one more 1/2 bath than it said but it is in an un-airconditioned part of the basement and is like a sauna.
#1 son, Rebekah,d-in-love and the kids came in about an hour behind us.  We got unloaded and hubbie,Rebekah and I went to the grocery store for some supplies. This is the first house we have stayed in that totally has nothing left at all, no toilet paper, no soap of any kind, nothing at all so we desperately had to make a trip.  #1 son ordered pizza and it arrived just as we got back from shopping.   Everyone felt much better after we ate a late supper.
#2 son and daughter arrived about 8:30.
Hubbie, daughter and I took the 4-legged kids on a beach walk tonight. The beach is really nice here, supper wide with lots of shells.

I am deeply grateful to our loving Heavenly Father tonight for granting safe travel for all of us today.
Good Night and God Bless.

GETTING READY FOR VACATION DAY

G-son was here early this morning but hubbie was off today and fixed him breakfast while I got chores done.  The sun is shining beautifully this morning.  This is going to be a busy day as we are getting ready to go on our yearly beach trip. This year we are going to a house on Ocean Isle beach on the coast of North Carolina. We have never stayed on this island before.
I had Evy for a while this morning as Aaron and Rebekah had a meeting to attend.  She likes her little rocking chair that was handed down from g-son.

Oops  !!!!

They played well together until her mom came to pick her up. I think they had every building block in the house out today.

While she was here hubbie made a cake delivery to Green River Preserve for me of 11 caramel cakes.
I had 4 pound cakes to bake for orders and 6 more caramel and a chocolate layer cake to ice this morning.
When hubbie got back from the delivery he got on the lawn mower.
I grabbed a quick lunch and then went outside to work on some of the things on my punch list that need to be done before we leave tomorrow.
I cleaned out the driveway ditches as Aaron had scraped the drive yesterday. It was an easy job as he didn't fill any of them in.  As I walked back up toward the barn I saw the blackberries hanging from the vines needing to be picked. This wasn't on my list but had to be done. I put 2 pan fulls in the freezer to quick freeze.
I gleaned the garden and then came inside to pack. This took up most of the afternoon. We are taking my van, Rebekah, #1 son, d-in-love g-son and Evy are taking Rebekah's expedition, Aaron is going to New Jersey to a sod convention, and #2 son and daughter are taking his truck.
We loaded the van mostly ,then aired all the bike tires up and got them ready to load in #2 son's truck.
He came by after work and Aaron and Rebekah brought over some things to go in his truck also. We got all that loaded then Enrigue, the youth leaded from our church came over to go over all his duties with us. He is staying at our house and taking care of the farm while we are gone.
We have never had someone stay here before as my sis-in-law Sandy has always came by daily and took care of the animals but she had major shoulder surgery 2 months ago and still can't lift more than a gallon of milk with that arm.  I didn't want to take a chance on her hurting herself over here this year.
After everyone had left we had more packing to do and more little jobs so we were up until midnight.
Whew sometimes I don't think the week off is worth the trouble it takes to get ready to go but then I get there and am very glad I went to the trouble to get ready to go.
God is so good and I am praying for His traveling mercies on my entire family tomorrow as we head out.
Good Night and God Bless.


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CURB MARKET FUN

G-son got here a little late today but we still managed to get breakfast and make it on time after he ran into the school where the other kids were just dividing up to go to classes.
I hurried back home and did the chores and got loaded for market. Daughter is already there and had 10 gallons of blackberries to sell along with her baked goods.
We got all my things set up and business was pretty good all morning even with the light rain that has fallen all morning.
Daughter left at 10:40 to go to g-son's school and pick him up. She brought him back to the market and he had 2  friends waiting for him to get here. They had fun on a not so crowded market day.

 Cora and Caitlyn Case love to play with g-son. Cora starts kindergarten at the same school he goes to. She made him promise today that if he ever saw her at school he would wave at her !!

 Steve the vendor neighbor wants in on the fun !!

 Looks like Aunt T is delivering an interesting message ???

They are all under my (Neena's) watchful eye !!!
We sold fairly good today and after the sun came out for awhile folks started coming in.
After market g-son went with daughter, and I went to Walmart to pick up some supplies.
While I was in the store the rain started to pour down again and thunder was booming. I waited for it to slack a little but still got drowned getting things in the van with lightening flashing all around.
I  stopped at #2 son's house to pick up our mail that the mailman has been leaving there because he has a hard time getting to our mailboxes with all the construction going on.
Our mailman goes to church with us.
#2 son had just finished mowing his lawn on his day off today before the rain started in.  He said it sure didn't rain as hard as it did yesterday.
I came home and unloaded the van.  Hubbie came home and we had a snack then the storms came again. While we were watching the early news lightening knocked the power off for a few seconds but thankfully it came back on. The thunder wasn't really loud but it seemed like the lightening hit something very close around.
Thankfully the storm passed quickly leaving only 3/4 " of rain in the gauge today.
The ground is so muddy around the chicken lots and garden it is really a mess to get anything done.
Hubbie went in the garden and pulled off all the yellow squash so I could finish filling the canner of left over beans. I had 4 quarts of beans and 3 of squash for casseroles this winter.

Aaron scraped all our driveways this evening after yesterday's gulley washing rain.
I iced 6 more caramel cakes and did weekly paperwork tonight to catch up on everything from yesterday.
Thankful for the place God choose for me to live tonight and for the people He surrounds me with each day.
Good Night and God Bless.

RAIN RAIN RAIN

Got g-son off to his workshop this morning without any complaints.  He loves the social aspect of school just not the work aspect, haha.
The workers were already working on the road when I got home but I got in okay. After chores, breakfast and my morning walk/run I started baking my cakes. I baked 18 caramel, 2 chocolate, 4 pound and 2 blackberry wine when I was totally done. I had to turn the ovens off and go pick up g-son at 11am.
We had lunch then he played in the living room with his legos while I continued my baking.
It is sunny this morning but clouds are already building around the horizon just after lunch.
I played with g-son and then broke some green beans for canning this afternoon when the girls get here.
About 2:45 g-son called me to come see why the TV said there was a signal interuption. I looked out the window and saw that it was just beginning to sprinkle but not enough surely to interfere with the satelite signal.  As I looked out the same window again I saw the mountains in the distance disapear in a white veil of rain.  I could hear thunder in the distance so I told g-son he would have to do without TV for awhile.
As the rain got harder and harder I was amazed at how hard the rain was falling. After it slacked up some I took these pics of the water falls around our yard and the new bridge and road work that flooded.

In about an hour we got 3.25 inches of rain,wow !!
Thankfully there wasn't much wind and the thunder and lightening stayed in the distance.
We were planning on getting the canners started about 4 but were delayed an hour waiting for the storm to pass.
Daughter and Rebekah did all the canning I just broke beans. Rebekah brought over cube steak and gravy and made a delicious squash casserole for everyone's supper. D-in-love and #1 son came up also, #1 son has been working 12 hour night shifts this week to repair the interstate so he was on his way to work.
Rebekah canned 21 quarts more of green beans and daughter canned 27 pints for her winter supply.
I still have a bowl of beans left to can tomorrow night.  They called it a night around 10 pm. 
After they left I iced 6 caramel cakes and 1 chocolate, got everything wrapped and ready for market.
Whew I am tired, that bed is sure going to feel good tonight.  Yes this is the "good ole summer"  canning season !!!
Grateful for the strength the Lord gives me each day and the bounty of fresh food He provides.
Good Night and God Bless.