2014 TOY RUN SATURDAY

Off to market early this morning and arrived on time. No one was there to notice as customers were scarce early in the day.  I kept thinking it would surely get busier as the temperatures warmed outside but it never did.  It was an exceptionally slow Saturday before Thanksgiving.  Thankful for the orders I had.
It has been a long time since I had time to get my laptop out and do some blog catching up on  a Saturday at market.
Hubbie left early to get home and get the smoker filled with a couple Boston Butts and a couple chickens to smoke and then spend the rest of the evening raking the leaves around the house. Seems there are more leaves now than there has been and he has already raked twice already. We have a mountain of leaves down in the woods in front of the house where he has been dumping them.
After I left market I made one stop at Aldi for supplies for a Tuesday market day for a change.
The Henderson county toy run came into town this afternoon, with scores of motorcycle riders bringing toys so that the children that might not have any gifts on Christmas morning would have some.

Thankful for all these generous folks and their donations.
I made it home to find hubbie still raking leaves.  He swears there is more leaves this year than he has ever seen !!
I helped get the last tarps full pulled off the lawn and into the woods then we put up the lawn chairs for the winter months. I usually wash the chairs before I store them but it is too cold to do any outside washing today so I will wash them next spring when I get them out.
Today has been the warmest day of the week reaching 50 degrees with sunshine but the wind is blowing making it feel much cooler.
The smoker has been going since 12:30 with all the meat in it and the chickens were ready to have for supper tonight.  It was very good, yummy !!
Aa , Re and little EL came for a short visit tonight then hubbie and I tackled the task of changing out our dining room table. I had advertised the old table , thinking it would be nice to sell it out of the kitchen but there were no takers so I will use it downstairs as a cutting table when I get my sewing corner down there arranged.
We got the new table put together, hubbie already had all the chairs together and the table wasn't bad although when we first looked at the instructions they didn't make much sense.
This table will take a while to get used to as it is narrower than the old one and in this picture we put one of the extra leaves in it to be ready for lunch tomorrow.

It has another leaf so we can have more room when the entire family is here  and then I will take both leaves out during the week for extra room in the kitchen.
I  think I like it but it will take some getting used to since it is so different than what we have had for years.
While we were working on this daughter came by to pick up a dog crate for a dog she is sitting this week.  She had spent the day at Clemson with the basketball girls and other coaches.
They had a program and then went to the football game.  They had nose bleed seats at the game as you can see by this picture of the three coaches (photo bombed by one of their players) !!

Thankful tonight for safe traveling mercies for her and her teams and grateful for all my blessings of this day.
Good Night and God Bless.

BUSY BAKING DAY

The sun was doing its best to break through what looked like a winter sky this morning.  After chores and breakfast I took a walk in the chilly 38 degree . 

Annie and Sadie wait patiently for me to come back up the drive.

It is starting to look really wintry around the farm with all this cold weather.

This one oak tree is determined to be the very last to drop it's colorful leaves.

The garden is in early winter mode with only Kale, Collards, Turnips and a couple Cabbage heads still in the mix even after the low teens temps .

Back inside I began the baking for this Saturday before Thanksgiving, a predicted busy day. I have several orders so it should be a good day.
I baked 18 caramel, 2 coconut,  2 pound and an applesauce cake for a special order.
While I was engrossed in my baking I was surprised to get a phone call from the Hickory Toyota dealership asking if daughter might still be interested in a car they have down there.  I told him the payment she could make and he said he thought he could get there if she would definitely commit to buy.  After an hour of waiting for her to get her lunch break she said she would buy the car if indeed he could get to a $350 payment.
He called back later with the news that he couldn't do it and was even $4 dollars higher on his payment than the guy last week that we told we wouldn't do a $375 payment on that car.  The car has 1860 miles on it but they maintain it is not a trac car but they did loan it out once to a doctor while they worked on his car and he drove it back and forth to Asheville.
They are still asking the same for it as the ones with only 5 miles on them.
He had the nerve to say to me after I told him that would not work on that car that he thought I had talked to everybody in his dealership.  I told him, well duh ,  but it sure wasn't because I was calling them,grrrr !!!!
This threw my morning cake baking into a mid afternoon ending job.
I got finished arranging the spices and flavorings on the new turntable I bought Thursday and at least got the kitchen cabinet work all finished. As I checked my e-mails for cake orders I was reminded by an e-mail from one of my suppliers that I needed to order cake boxes so I got that done.
After evening chores I took a short break to rest my aching back before the night's icing chores began.  
This will be the start of a very busy spurt for me all the way through next Saturday which is our Old Timey Open House Christmas at market.
Thanksgiving is a favorite time for me as it reminds me of olden times and all the harvest that we are very  thankful for. It also signals the end of a busy fall season and begins the hustle and bustle of the Christmas holiday shopping season.
I am tired tonight and ready for a hot bath.
It was close to 12:30am before I finished my muscle relaxing soak and crawled into bed.
Thankful tonight for all the wonderful blessings that come my way from my Heavenly Father each day and thankful for the season that reminds us of all the blessings we should be thankful for.
Good Night and God Bless.

SLOW WARM UP

When I got up a little before 8:00 this morning the thermometer read 26 degrees.  I'm sure the animals feel like its a heat wave after the last couple mornings.
Of course all the water was still frozen but there is hope that it will thaw today in the warm sunshine.
As I left for market I was on time even with the several phone orders I took this morning and a lady who called from market wondering when I would be there.
She was waiting to give me an order for Tuesday and then picked up something today.
I had a slow but decent day for the time of year it is. I took several more orders for this coming Saturday and next Tuesday.  I will be busy as usual until Tuesday when I leave market.  Hopefully hubbie can take the week off next week to help me out.
After market I added a couple stops to my regular errands. A stop at the local meat market to stock our freezer with roast, ground chuck and beef stew freshly cut and wrapped in freezer paper over filled the cooler I had put in the van this morning for this stop but it is cold enough not to have to worry about the meat getting warm before I make the rest of my stops.  Another extra stop was at Lowe's who had advertised Christmas trees already at black Friday prices but I didn't see any cheaper prices than I had looked at last week so that didn't take long.  Aldi and Walmart were both very crowded today. With a week left before Thanksgiving this surprised me and I hope this is not a sign of things to come in the next six days !!!
I got home at 4:45 just as hubbie was coming in from work. We got everything unloaded and put away before a customer came by to pick up a couple caramel cakes.
Chores were a little later than normal but no one complained when I gave out the food. At least the water was not frozen this evening.
I bought a package of country style ribs at the meat market and I put them in my new power cooker for our supper, yummy they were delicious and ready in 30 minutes total.
I am tired tonight so I rested on the couch while hubbie snoozed in his recliner tonight.  There was nothing on TV to watch so we watched the weather channel about tornadoes and some of the miraculous survivor stories.  I'm glad I live in the protection of these mountains !!
There is also a news story about global warming.  Last month, October 2014 was the warmest October worldwide since record keeping began.

I have a feeling this November will be a reversal of this record and it will be one of the coldest on record !!   Things always have a way of evening out.
Thankful tonight that I can rest in the peace and confidence of knowing God is in control and His will will be done.
Good Night and God Bless.

FIRST BASKETBALL GAME OF THE SEASON

Another morning of breaking ice and carrying extra water to all the animals.
I will be thankful for a break in this frigid weather.
I thought about walking this morning as the sunshine looks so inviting but then I looked at the thermometer and thought better of it,only 17 degrees at 10am.  The low this morning was 13 when hubbie left for work at 5:30 and it might have even dropped lower than that before daylight,brrrr.  That isn't record breaking but it tied the old record set back in 1903 for this date.
I spent the morning inside a warm kitchen baking cakes, 12 caramel, 2 chocolate, 1 special with cream cheese icing, 5 pound cakes and 2 blackberry wine cakes before lunch.
After lunch I noticed the temperature outside was finally above freezing at 34 degrees.
I did some housework and put up the new shelf hubbie made for me in the kitchen.

It looks good and will serve the purpose of getting all this snack food off the counter.
I also went through the extra storage cabinet in the hallway and re-organized it.
Today is daughter's teams first basketball game and they were playing at home so I went to watch her JV team.  She had talked about having so many girls that had never played before but you couldn't tell it when she put them on the floor.  The plays didn't work but they made some very good passing decisions and looked like a seasoned team at times.

They won the game by a large margin so that should be a confidence booster for them.

Unfortunately the varsity team lost their contest 41-34.  This is daughter sitting in the back ground of this action shot by the local paper.

I left after the JV game and came home to feed the animals and get started on weekly paperwork and icing cakes.
I got things ready for market and got into bed by midnight.
It is not supposed to get so cold tonight ,only in the low 20's and tomorrow we are supposed to see almost 50 degrees,ahhhh, thawing is coming !!
Thankful tonight for a loving Lord who keeps all His children in his loving protective arms each day.
Good Night and God Bless.

RECORD SETTING COLD

My body has not had time to adjust to these frigid temperatures yet.  When the thermometer says 17 degrees when I head out to do the morning chores it is usually in January and I am adjusted to cold by then, not expecting this in November !!
All the water was frozen completely solid so I had to bust the ice out of the waterers and refill them with cold water that, I'm sure, will very shortly by frozen solid again. Hopefully the chickens are smart enough to drink while they can.
I heard Cayenne the horse calling me the entire time I was at the chicken houses.  Her water was frozen also and she needed some fresh hay to warm her .
I came inside and had breakfast and then tackled the task of house cleaning some of the places I have been neglecting.
I took everything out of my canned goods, drink supplies, dessert supplies and spices and herb cabinets.  Tossed things that were out of date, proud of myself that there wasn't as many things as in some years to throw away.
Re had a hair appointment at 1:00 so she brought little EL by to nap here while she was gone. She slept a good 2-hour nap.
While she slept I got most of the things rearranged and back in the cabinets.  I need another lazy susan for my spice cabinet.
When El woke up I gave her a new farm set that used to be g-son's to play with and it kept her entertained until mom made it home.
The high temperature today was a balmy 27 degrees for a new record all around.  It has been a good day to work inside and feed the fire.
There were several counties just north of us that had to close schools today because of snow. Madison county got over 3 inches of snow and with the cold temps it stayed on the roads.

But I hate to complain when I see pictures of the states more north of us such as New York which has several feet of snow already. This pic is in Buffalo, NY this morning.

I had to deliver a sheet cake for a birthday this evening at 4:30 and then came home to do the chores a bit early so all the animals could get extra time to eat some extra food as tonight is supposed to be colder than last night with a predicted 13 degrees.
I wonder how their bodies are reacting to the early cold weather?
I am thankful we got our new stove in because it has really kept the house warm today.

I love this gauge we have on the stovepipe that helps you keep the fire at the right temperature.

Up to 300 degrees is creosote forming , 300 to 600 is clean burn and above 600 is overfire and dangerous.  I can keep this fire temp easily in the clean burn range by adding a stick or 2 of wood every couple hours. We probably should have built a fire in the upstairs stove tonight with the temps going so far down but hubbie was so tired he went to bed really early and I am not about to tackle that task.  The upstairs Appalachian stove is very different from the Pacific Energy stove downstairs.
I would like to have  a new Pacific Energy stove upstairs as well but we couldn't afford to replace both stoves the same year.  Maybe next season.
Thankful tonight for the warmth of a fire and for the warmth of God's loving arms that He wraps around me continuously.
Good Night and God Bless.

GROOMING DAY FOR DOLLY AND BERNIE

Woke to the sound or pouring rain early this morning.  I rolled over and went back to sleep for a late morning start.  It was still raining when I did the chores but at least not as hard as earlier.
After breakfast hubbie and I took Bernie and Dolly out to Petco for grooming appointments. They really hate these days !!
We stopped in Walmart to pick up a few things and look for a new shelf for a kitchen idea I have. Not finding one that was the right size ,hubbie said he could make me one.
When we got back home he went up to his work shop and I did some house cleaning.
The rain has finally stopped and the wind is starting to blow the cold front closer to our area.
There was 1 & 1/2 inches of rain in the gauge this evening.  The high temperature today got in the lower 50's but we won't see that again for quite a while according to the weather forecasters
This November has been a strange weather month. Most of the lower US has actually been colder than Alaska for many days. Our temperature for the next days is almost twice as low as the normal temp for this time of year.

Tonight's low is predicted to be 19 and tomorrow night it will be 15 or lower with wind blowing creating dangerous conditions.
I did 3 loads of laundry this afternoon before they called from the groomers to pick the dogs up at 3:45.
They look good but they are sad faced from having to have it done !!

The gingerbread house competition is going on in Asheville and again I am amazed at the gingerbread creations but they aren't many houses in the mix.
This chess set with Charles Dickens characters won first place this year and a grand sum of $7500.

Some of the other impressive entries.

Finally a gingerbread "house"  !!!!

I spent the cold evening catching up some paperwork ,finally getting the October figures in the books and doing some photo project arranging.
As I sit at the computer I can hear the wind howling outside and at 11:00 it is 29 degrees already. Hoping all who are outside tonight take care and stay safe as roads in the counties north of our area are already getting slick with a light dusting of snow.
Thankful tonight for the rain which dampened all the fallen leaves and thankful that God is in control of all.
Good Night and God Bless.

A SHORT BREAK FROM THE COLD

A cloudy but warmer morning greeted us this Sunday morning.  The animals looked like they were relieved when they found their water pans all free of ice this morning.
It won't be much of a break from the icy cold but we'll take it.  By tomorrow night the bitter cold with the next Artic plunge will be coming in to drop temps back into the teens and record breaking low temps are predicted for Tuesday.

Hopefully we do get the predicted rain fall tomorrow as we badly need some moisture to wet down all the fallen leaves. There have been several small forest fires around the area.
Hubbie and I had nursery duty this morning at church along with another couple, Bob and Wendy Jones. We had 5 little ones and a "crier" so we had our hands full. G-son came in and helped with the bigger boys while we had to hold a couple of the smaller ones who were no happy about being away from mama.
We had a spaghetti for lunch and then had a nice nice visit before everyone went home. Aaron was the only one missing today as he had to work in the soybean fields hoping to beat the rain.
Hubbie the last Nascar race of the season on TV this afternoon and I caught up on some magazine reading out in the sunroom with my 4-legged kids all snuggled in my lap.
The clouds are hanging dark and low but the rain held off until the evening chores were finished.
I got some straw and made some really nice nest inside the older hen's house to try and intice them to start laying their eggs inside the house again. Since the really windy day last week they have been randomly making nest sites outside.  It is like searching for Easter eggs each day to find the leaf covered nest.
Maybe with the cold rainy day tomorrow and the nice freshly strawed inside nest they will lay back inside.
I advertised my old dining set tonight to see if I get any takers before we put it downstairs and get the new longer one setup. I had rather sell this one from the dining room rather than the downstairs.  We'll see what kind of attention my add attracts for a couple days then move it downstairs for next weekend.
This is a good night for relaxing and getting geared up for some extra things I want to get done this coming week.
I am very thankful tonight for all the blessings of health and strength the Lord gives me each day.
Good Night and God Bless.