It's New Years Eve!

Happy New Year's Eve!  This is the last day of 2014 and I cannot believe how fast it flew by.  We started 2014 with friends and a limo and it continued to get better and better.  We traveled several thousand miles, we saw family and friends, some we haven't seen in years, we became grandparents which is the greatest thing in the world and we have settled down for a while on a farm in Tennessee.
My goal for 2014 was to enjoy family and friends more, spend less money and get healthier and I did all three!  I don't know my goals for 2015 but I will before Jan. 1st is over.  2014 thanks for being a good year; I an looking forward to 2015!

We Are Back At The Farm

We had an uneventful trip home which is the perfect way to get home.  We left Sanford at 7:00 AM and arrived in Parrottsville at 5:00 PM. The jeep travels really well.  It is comfortable and has plenty of room for Shadow too.  We averaged about 28 miles to the gallon and with gas prices as low as they are right now we even saved some money on this trip. As we traveled through Jacksonville I took a couple of pictures and a couple more pictures of other areas too.  Jacksonville does have a nice skyline on the river and I wish now that I would have taken more pictures of it.  Another picture is of a bridge in Georgia that runs between Jeckyl Island and St. Simons Island.  It seemed to have taken 7 years to complete.  It was a cloudy drive starting from just south of St. Augustine and lasted until we were just south of Ashville.  The sun only lasted a few minutes before the rain started again.  The clouds were really low over the mountains in North Carolina but it made for a pretty view.  When we arrived home Lisa had made us dinner, her famous meatloaf, and we had a nice evening with George and Lisa talking about our "adventures" in Florida.
Just before we left for Florida our Marriage License came in the mail so tomorrow we are going back to the DMV and try once more to get my Tennessee driver's license.  Wish me luck and that three times a charm with the paperwork.  We had a great time in Florida but it is nice to be back home at the farm!

It's A Travel Day!

Today we head back north to Tennessee.  We have enjoyed our stay in Florida both in Sanford and Orange Park.  We enjoyed our family Christmas with Mom C, Jim & Veronica and Carrie & Daniel.  It was fun being all together and just relaxing and talking.  We had a great time seeing all of our friends in Orange Park and spending more time with Carrie & Daniel.  It was especially nice to attend my church and get a warm welcome by all.  It has been a wonderful week but like all good things must come to an  end it is time for this to end also.  Thank you Jim & Veronica for your hospitality.  You are both very gracious hosts and we enjoyed being together again.  Thank you Carrie & Daniel for speding time together and getting us a great rate on the hotel room.  A big thank you goes to all of our friends that we spent time with , it was so fun!  Tim and I still has Christmas to do at home so check back and see what we get.    Tennessee, here we come!

We Had A Great Day!

Our day started early with a 6:00 AM visit to Toys 'R' Us to see some of my TRU buddies.  The store looked good and entering it at that hour reminded me of working there again but I don't.  I was warmly greeted by several of my friends I use to work with.  We got all caught up with eachother then Frances and I visited for quite a while longer.  We had lunch with Carrie at the hotel, she was working, and so we just got McDonalds.  The McDonalds near the hotel was awful.  All in all it took me 45 minutes to order and get our food.  I normally do not get too mad at waiting but when I see people who ordered behind get there food and I am watching my food just sit there I finally had enough.  I went to the manager with my complaint.  He finished my order and I was on my way.  Thank goodness we still had people to visit which made the lunch situation disappear.  We went to our old neighborhood and visited some of our neighbors.  We also saw our old house which is up for sale again! We had dinner at Texas Roadhouse with our good friends Bob and Robin, their daughter Cheryl and her fiancé Evan and Carrie and Daniel.  We had a great time together and it was so fun to be together again.  After dinner we headed back over to Toys 'R' Us to visit some more of my TRU buddies then back to the hotel.  We had a great day in Orange Park and it was good to see so many friends again.  Today we are headed south to Sanford for our last night in Florida before we head up north to go home!  Thanks to all we visited with; it was fun!
Today is also a special day as it is my sister Pam's Birthday!  Happy Birthday Pam! I love ya!

We're Back, Orange Park!

We drove up from Sanford to Orange Park for a couple days to visit Carrie & Daniel and several friends.  Last night we had dinner at Debbie and Bill Fears' house and we had such a great time! Their  daughters, Jessica & Alissa were there too and it was great to be together again.  We even sat around their fire pit and roasted homemade Marshmellows that Jessica made.  It was a great evening with great friends, good food and fun being together.  Thanks Debbie and Bill!

Another Great Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas especially since we were able to celebrate it with Mom C, Jim & Veronica and Carrie & Daniel.  Jim is a great cook and has made three great meals for us.  We have enjoyed our time together and wish it could be longer but we are grateful for the time we have been together.  Thank you Mom C, Jim & Veronica and Carrie & Daniel for a wonderful Christmas.
Today, Tim and I are headed up to Orange Park to visit family and friends. We are so fortunate to have a wonderful family and great friends, we love you all? Check  back and see what we do next!

Merry Christmas!

I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!  May your day be Merry and bright!  May it be festive and fun!  I hope Santa is good to everyone,  I will share my Christmas fun in tomorrow's blog but for today I will keep it short and simple, Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas Eve

Happy Christmas Eve, Merry Christmas Eve, it's Christmas Eve?  I am not sure how to say it so I will sum it up by saying Merry Christmas; it is almost here!  We made it to Sanford.  Now it was great driving in our new car which rides great, gets good gas mileage and was very comfortable.  However, I have to add one thing, people are idiots!  Tim is an excellent driver and if I did not know this before yesterday, which I did, I would of learned how good he is.  The conditions were now exactly wonderful for driving; wet, rainy and fog.  We, fortunately, missed getting into two accidents all because people are idiots!  We were in South Carolina and this guy in a red car was merging in from the entrance ramp.  We were already in the left lane and, we thought, clear of the merge but this jerk wasn't happy to be behind the driver in front of him while merging and decided to come into our lane.  Tim had to go drive off the road in order not to be hit.  Once the guy realized what he had done  he sped off like a bat out of hell.  Good riddance!  The next incident happened just south of Jacksonville with another merging lane except this time everything came to a sudden halt.  The car in front of us did go off the road just to make sure he did not get hit which aided us in giving us a place to go to avoid getting hit.  We are thankful nothing happened but making our hearts skip a beat or two.  

We were warmly welcomed by Tim's brother Jim and Tim's Mom.  Jim fixed us an excellent dinner, huge steaks, and we had a great evening talking and getting all caught up with everyone.  Veronica, Jim's wife- my sister in law, came home from work around 9:30.  Veronica is a TSA supervisor at Orlando's airport.  We talked late into the evening.  Carrie and Daniel will be joining us later on today.  We will be celebrating Christmas on Christmas Eve so that Carrie and Daniel can be with Daniel's family on Christmas and Jim and Veronica can spend it with Veronica's family Christmas morning.  It is nice to be together on Christmas, afterall, it has only been 25 years since we last celebrated together.  Yes, it will be a Merry Christmas Eve!  Merry Christmas!

It's A Travel Day!

Today we head south to Florida.  We are spending Christmas in Sanford, FL at Tim's brother's house, Jim and Veronica.  It has been over 25 years since we have had Christmas with Jim and Veronica and Mom C,she flew into Florida today.  Carrie and Daniel will be joining us also. I am looking forward to spending Christmas with everyone.
To get there we will be traveling over 600 miles but we will be driving our new car so we probably won't mind the long drive.  We have heard that gas is under $2 a gallon in South Carolina and Georgia so we will find out and happily fill up!
Yesterday we spent the day getting ready to leave.  Tim worked around the RV and I finished up with all the gifts I made for Christmas.   George and Lisa just got back, last night, from having their Christmas with their kids and family in Jacksonville, FL. So it is our turn to go.  We will also be spending a couple days, after Christmas, in Jacksonville.  Florida, here we come!

Paper Is Amazing!

I spent most of my day creating Christmas presents and most of the gifts I was making was made from paper.  It is amazing what you can do with paper and although I won't be able to show you what I made, some of you will be receiving what I made. After  Christmas I will post the items with instructions. Until then, I can only tease you with the pictures I will post.
So I have to ask for prayers, first for my mom who is back in the hospital with yet another infection.  She is doing well. Now the second request for prayer is for my daughter Jenny who lost her wedding rings while shopping yesterday..  It was a dumb accident but please pray that the person who found the rings will turn them in.
Only a couple more days to Christmas and just today for us.  We leave for Florida Tuesday morning to spend Christmas with Carrie, Mom C and Jim & Veronica.  It has been several years since we have celebrated Christmas together so it should be a lot of fun, Tis the Season!

FaceTime Is Great!

I have to say that FaceTime is great!  It is one of the best things to use to help cheer someone up, watch your grandchild say her first actual word and keep in touch with friends and loved ones.  Skype is also great that way.  Why am I telling you something you already know?  Because yesterday I used it to my advantage! I was talking to my mom while my sister was visiting her.  During the conversation my mom kept saying I wish I could see you to me.  So, I asked my mom to hand the phone to Pam and when she got on I said let's FaceTime.  We ended our conversation and the next thing my mom saw when Pam handed her the phone was me!  My mom was so surprised and happy.  We FaceTimed for quite a while.  I was able to let her see all my Christmas decorations especially the ones she had given me over the years.  It was a great way to spend some time with my mom and Pam especially since I could not just walk into her hospital room.  

Later on, my daughter Jenny FaceTimed me and I got to see my little Rory.  Jenny and Nate have a daily vlog on YouTube, That One Couple, and through their daily vlog I get to see Rory daily.  The point I am trying to get to is Rory is so use to the camera that she recognizes the phone as one and what makes it so special for me is when we FaceTime and I say hello to my sweet Rory she instantly smiles.  Now I know that it is a reaction to the camera but as a Grandma her response, to me, is "Hello Grandma, I love you!"  I also got to hear Rory say "Da Da" yesterday.  With FaceTime we will be able to watch Rory open her Christmas presents and eventhough we won't be together we will be!  Like I said in the beginning, FaceTime is great!

Meeting More Neighbors

We spent most of the morning talking with the neighbors; at least the ones who live off of Quail Way. There are now four homes on Quail Way. Remember that Quail Way is a long road and because we are so spread out we don't see much of eachother. We pass Linda and Rick's driveway everytime we come and go yet we have never seen them. We have met their dog Rusty that comes over and plays with Shadow. In fact Rusty, who wonders all over Quail Way got Shadow in trouble. Up until Rusty came along Shadow was good about never leaving the farm property. However once Rusty came along and showed Shadow that there was so much more of Quail Way Shadow took off a few times and even found the ponds that are off of Quail Way. So, for now, Shadow is on his lead learning "his" territory again. Anyway, Linda was calling for Rusty and drove up to the farm. We introduced ourselves then spent the next hour talking. After Linda left Tim ran to the store and our other neighbor, Cheryl, came by with a package that was dropped off for us. She and I got to talking and spent another hour chatting away. We shared some recipes, I showed her some of the decorations I made and all sorts of other things. It was a nice way to get to know the neighbors better and I think once the holidays are over we will have them all over for a BBQ or a street party since we all live off of Quail Way!

Last Post Office Run

I sent off my last Christmas package yesterday and the really nice thing about living in a small town is that there was no line at our small post office. I don't think I have ever not had to stand in line at the post office this time of year. It took about 5 minutes to walk into the post office, pay for the package and walk out. All I can say is Wow! After the post office and the dump, in that order, Tim and I headed to Newport to return something at Lowes, do a little shopping and have lunch out. We went to Ruby Tuesday and we got there just before the lunch rush hit. I love the coupons that Ruby Tuesday sends me through email; I used my $5.00 salad bar one yesterday. When we got back home I spent the rest of the day in the Crafty Cottage working on some more Christmas presents. I also made a really great pork loin in the crock pot for dinner that I will share the recipe on a later post. It was good and there is a lot left over so we can have another pork loin roast, pulled pork, pork tacos, etc. I know one thing I will not do with the meat is make Pork Soup; that was a big mistake. We have not had any sun for the last 3-4 day so hopefully we will see some soon. Check back tomorrow and see if the sun showed up.

A TV Antenna Or A Ray Gun?

We have a new TV antenna for the Crafty Cottage and George and Lisa's house.  Tim put it up two days ago and he has been tweaking it the last couple of days.  He is working very hard at getting the most channels we can.  We are located between two major cities so if we point the antenna one way we get the Tri-Cities Broadcast area and if we point it another way we get Knoxville broadcasting area.  The problem is one way or the other we still miss out on getting a couple of channels.  For instance, if we point the antenna one way we get most of the channels except NBC and if we go the other way we miss several other channels.  He is going to work with it again tomorrow to see if a clear day or cloudy day makes a difference.  I did take a picture of Tim and the antenna or is it a ray gun?

A Frustrating Day

Our day started early because we were getting our Tennessee Driver's License and we were not sure how busy the DMV would be.  Unlike other's States DMV Tennessee only gives appointments for people needing to take a driving test.  The closest DMV was in Morristown (about 40 minutes away) so we got their just after opening time and there were only 6 people ahead of us.  The line went quickly but as were we in line we checked out all the paperwork we needed and realized I did not have our marriage license so I had to wait for Tim to finish getting his license.  We then drove back home, got the license then went back to the DMV.  Everything was going great until the final window when my copy of our marriage license, the only one we have ever had and used, was declined because it did not have a stamp on it.  So, after trying so hard to get my license it was a fail!  Since we were in Morristown and it was lunchtime we decided to have lunch out and went to Longhorn Steakhouse.  When we got home I looked up what I had to do to get a "real" copy of our Marriage Certificate and it will take up to a month to get the copy. Until then I will remain a Florida resident and Tim is a Tennessee resident.  I don't seem to have good luck at the DMV and yesterday was no exception.  Hopefully, when the copy of our marriage license arrives, I will be able to get my Tennessee Driver's  License, some day!

A Glitter Filled Day

A couple of years ago I learned how to make glitter ornaments using clear glass ornaments, glitter and floor wax.  I had purchased several different glass ornaments over the past few years but never really knew what I wanted to do with them.  On Pinterest I saw these glitter ornaments and I wanted to do them.  I did and I made so many that several family and friends received them.  Now it is a few years later and at first when I started to make them again I thought, yeah, they are okay then after my third one I was really beginning to enjoy it.  14 ornaments later I actually started to run out of glitter.  So, those of you that I will see for or around Christmas will be receiving one; surprise!  The picture I will post only represents the first couple I made.  The rest will be a surprise!  Now, about the fun of cleaning up glitter?  There is no fun because it does not Totally go away.  So for the next few days I will encounter some glitter somewhere in the Crafty Cottage, at least it goes with the season!

Christmas Shopping Part 3 - The End?

Yesterday started very early as Tim and George got up really early to go and sell some items at the Jonesboro Flea Market in Jonesboro, TN.  When George inquired about the flas market he was told to get there early because most of the visitors to the flea market come early.  So they headed to the flea market around 5:00 am to set up and be ready for the crowds.  Well, they ended up being one of three vendors there to sell until later when other vendors arrived.  They were set up and ready to go at 8:00 am when the gates opened up but instead of a huge crowd they ended up fighting the cold weather and tried to stay warm.  Lisa and I joined them later and I guess you could say that was the beginning of my Christmas shopping Part 3.  I did not buy anything at the flea market except for a big cup of hot chocolate which tasted great especially since it was so cold out; a warm 38 degrees.  We all left the flea market around noon happy but cold.  We were happy because George and Tim had sold all the stuff they brought so we had lunch then Lisa and I headed up to Johnson City to do some shopping and Tim and George headed home to warm up.  I think I have completed my Christmas shopping and now all I have to do is wrap and distribute all the gifts.  I still have more gifts to make but at least I am done shopping in the stores?!?  Lisa made a great sausage meatball chili for dinner and she invited Tim and I over so we all enjoyed it at their house with a bottle of wine from the local winery we visited the other day.  It was another good day at and around  the farm.

A Crafty Saturday

It was a day of crafting yesterday and Lisa and I made quite a few Christmas presents and decorations.  We spent the morning in the RV working on some things, I can't share because some of you may receive the gifts we made.  Then after lunch we spent the rest of the day in the Crafty Cottage creating all sorts of gifts.  There is still a couple more projects to go but we did manage to get quite a few projects completed.  I think the glitter project was the most successful because glitter was flying all over the place.  So it was a good day and on my walk up to the RV I got to see another beautiful sunset.  It was a good day!

The Goodwater Vineyard

Lisa and I visited the Goodwater Winery yesterday.  We have passed the sign for vineyard several times but never stopped so yesterday we had some free time and so we stopped by.  It is a small family run winery that has been in business for 10 years but they have just opened their tasting room. It is small but very unique.  The tasting does cost $4 but you get to keep your wine glass so we did it.  They are currently making 5 wines using only the grapes they have grown in their vineyard.  We tasted all five wines and for one of the wines we went out to the room where they make the wine to get a taste. The wine came right out the vat it was being made in. We liked the sweet wines the best, I always have, so we each purchased a few bottles of wine; some as gifts and some for us.  I know we will be visiting Goodwater Winery again but next time we will have Tim and George join us.

Visitors At The Farm

Larry and Linda Vanderwilt came to visit yesterday at the farm.  The Vanderwilts are friends of ours that have visited before.  We have known eachother for years and when we get together we always have a good time.  Yesterday was another fun day.  After touring everything new at the farm (they were here in Sept. and saw what we had done so far) and they did see some changes.  The Crafty Cottage is done, our shed is done and George and Lisa's house is done enough to live in.  Linda and I went and "played" in the Crafty Cottage.  Linda had a couple of rubber stamps that she had received and wanted to make some cards with them so we worked on a card, which turned out really well for her first one, and then we gathered some supplies so she could create some more at home.  After making cards we headed up to the RV where we were joined by Tim and Larry and later George and Lisa.  I had fixed some snacks and after enjoying them Linda spent the next hour trying to help me crochet.  If you followed my Travels With Ruth blog you know it was not the first time I tried to crochet.  Well, as good as Linda was learning how to make cards I was the opposite in crocheting. I get the concept I just cannot get the technique down but Linda left me with yarn and a booklet and some more understanding that I am going to try it again.  I am hoping when the Vanderwilts return at the end of January I will have at least mastered the first and second row.  Thanks Linda for your patience with me while crocheting.  I can do it!  I have another snack recipe to share but that will be in another post. Thank you Larry and Linda for coming for a visit.  We all enjoyed spending time with you.  Come back any time!

Christmas Shopping - Round Two, The Marathon!

Lisa and I decided to do some serious shopping and headed west to Knoxville!  Why Knoxville?  It has all the stores and one special one in particular; Publix.  Publix is a grocery store in Florida and there is now one in Knoxville.  What I like best about Publix is their Deli Sub Sandwiches and their Sweet Tea.  So after our first couple of stops we headed to the University of Tennessee campus where the Publix was located.  The sub tasted great and we also picked up a couple of items from the store too.  We then began our marathon session of Christmas shopping hitting several stores and successfully getting presents along the way.  We shopped all day and well into the night.  It was a 12 hour session and I know I did manage to  check some gifts of my list and I think Lisa did too!  It was a good day, spending it with a good friend and getting some shopping done; thanks Lisa!  On our drive home last night we stopped to get a fast food dinner and came upon an incredible Christmas light show but we were tired from shopping and we still had an hour's drive to go so we looked at the lights from the road.  On our drive home we both were surprised how easy it was to shop.  All the stores that we visited were not very busy, a plus for us, and when I was chatting with some of the cashiers they all did agree that it had been a quiet day considering it is only two weeks until Christmas.  Maybe Gray Thursday (Thanksgiving) and Black Friday along with Cyber Monday did allow people to complete their shopping.  As for me, I still enjoy shopping like I did yesterday!

Cold Day Means Craft Day!

On a cold and rainy day where is the best way to spend it?  Either in the warm RV watching TV or in the warm and cozy Crafty Cottage working on Christmas presents; Tim and I did both.  It was such a lazy day and after working on various projects at the farm Tim took a day off and just stayed inside and relaxed.  Something he has not done for quite a while.  As for me, I was at the Crafty Cottage playing and creating.  I can't show you everything I did because some are gifts but I will post some of the things I did.  Lisa and I did run out to the post office and counrty store but most of the day we stayed at the farm and out of the weather.  It was a cold day and the temperature was just at the point where it was not cold enough to snow but not warm enough for rain.  What did we have? Sleet!  At times it came down pretty heavy too which made it the perfect day to stay inside.  Even Shadow had an inside day!  It's nice to be able to have days like these and I know there will be more of them to come; after all Winter hasn't even come yet!

A New Favorite!

I had said I was going to be trying some new recipes and I think I have found the one that I will be using for special occasions and gift giving.  For years I use to make homemade Chex Mix and over the years I have given out quite a bit as presents but not this year.  I have a new "treat" that I will be using as gifts.  What is it?  Homemade Peanut Clusters!  I found a recipe on Pinterest using the slow cooker to make peanut clusters.  I am usually the one that does not venture out and do anything that contains melting chocolate only because I have had too many experiences where I have burned the chocolate.  Well since I have found this recipe I am all about melting chocolate!  Using the slow cooker, three ingredients and about two hours from start to finish I have now made the best peanut clusters I have ever had! I will be giving these as gifts this year but as a gift to you I will also share the recipe.  So here it is:

Slow Cooker Peanut Clusters

Ingredients:

1 (20oz) package of vanilla almond bark

1 (12oz) package of semi sweet chocolate chips

1 (16oz) jar of dry roasted peanuts

Directions:

1. Place the almond bark and chocolate chips in the slow cooker

2. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour

3. Stir until blended ( it will look like nothing has melted until you start stirring)

4. Add peanuts and stir

5. Drop tablespoonfuls onto wax paper

6. Let is stand until set

7. Once set store in an air tight container or zip lock bag.

So easy and sooooooo good,enjoy!

Another Day To Celebrate

Tim took me out yesterday and bought me some new hiking boots.  Around here I will be needing them to walk through the snow or keep my footing on the hills when climbing up or down when it is slick out.  I have only slipped once and that was in the snow.  After shopping for the boots he took me to lunch at Ruby Tuesday where I was able to use my coupon for a free Birthday burger.  The burger was good and cooked just the way I like it.  We spent most of the afternoon setting up my TV and DVD player in the Crafty Cottage.  We were also going to move my CD player down but it needs an amplifier to power it up so that will go back into the RV.  All we need now is a good antenna (one is ordered) and I will be all set in the Crafty Cottage.  We ended our evening at George and Lisa's house for dessert.  Thanks Tim for a nice day!

Christmas Shopping - Round One!

It was a cold and rainy day yesterday so what better thing to do but to make chili and go Christmas shopping. There was a Christmas Village Craft show going on in Morristown so Lisa and I drove up to Morristown, visited the Home Depot to return some items (it is the only Home Depot in the area) and then headed over to the Christmas Village. This was a smaller craft show than most of the Fall Festivals that we attended this Fall but we still managed to find a few things for some peole on our Christmas lists. One of the reasons I like going to Morristown is that there is a Hobby Lobby there. So, after we left Christmas Village we went to the Mall and had lunch at El Toro, which was very good, and then headed to Hobby Lobby. I had forgotten that this is the first week end after the Thanksgiving holiday so everyone was out Christmas shopping. The Mall was crowded but Hobby Lobby was packed. We got one of the last shopping carts then we almost had to fight to get through every aisle. Lisa has this beautiful box that she purchased at the Fall Festival in Cosby and it has fall decorations in it. So now it was time to change the decorations to Christmas. We looked through all of the greenery and Christmas picks, pointsettas, garland, etc and Lisa picked out some pretty colorful items that is going to really make a very nice display. I will take pictures when it is completed. We also bought some supplies needed to make several Christmas presents and decorations. After we left Hobby Lobby we headed over to the Dollar Tree for some stocking stuffers. We wanted to get back to Parrottsville by 3:00 to watch the Parrottsville Christmas Parade but with the rain we decided not to attend. Instead, we watched the SEC Championship game: Alabama vs Missouri; Missouri lost. The chili tasted good but I think that the weather outside, still cold and rainy, and watching football made it taste even better. So Round One of Christmas shopping is complete with Round Two beginning it a couple of days. 'Tis the Season!

Thanks!

Thank you for all the Birthday wishes, calls, cards and presents!  I appreciated them all so much and it made my day.  I am truly blessed with the family and friends that I have.  Lisa and I started the day with a stop at the local doughnut shop in Newport then ran some errands after that.  We stopped by a Redbox where I got a free Birthday movie and then headed back to the farm for a quiet afternoon.  George and Tim were busy running more lines for the electricity so that hopefully by Monday the main line will be activated to the farm.  My present from Tim was a TV for the Crafty Cottage and yesterday he also put up an antenna to get the local channels.  Thank you Tim.  We went to dinner in Greeneville last night and tried a new restaurant for us.  It was called FATZ and is similar to a Texas Roadhouse or a Logan's Steakhouse.  They are known for their World Famous Calabash Chicken so I had to give it a try.  It was good!  Everyone enjoyed their meals so we now have another place to go for lunch or dinner.  After dinner Lisa had made a Birthday cake for me so we ended the night with a delicious piece of cake, thanks Lisa!  So it was a wonderful Birthday and once again thank you for making it so special!

It's Double Fives For Me Today!

Yup, I am 55 today.  I have no idea what today brings but I am sure it will be a good one as it is my first one at the farm.  Birthdays, in my family,  have always been special and when I was growing up and mostly through my adult years this has stayed true.  So, check back tomorrow and find out what happens.
Yesterday was a quiet day but still a productive day.  I made a new crock pot meal which sounded great and it tasted fine but it looked terrible.  I made scallop potatoes with ham and I followed the recipe exactly but the picture on the recipe did not match the looks of my dinner.  So, the next time I make it I will tweak the recipe and if it turns out better I will then share the recipe.  I did wrap presents yesterday and started my Christmas cards too. Lisa and I bought some cute decorations for our mail boxes so we put them up yesterday.  Check out the picture I posted.  Last night I did have something I have never had before, Grape pie.  Our neighbors, harvested the grapes that George grew at the farm and made several grape pies.  She brought one to George and Lisa and last night we had it after dinner. It was interesting!  The first few bites reminded me of blueberry pie but then the tartness set in.  We were warned the pie would be tart and it was but we all managed to get past the tartness and enjoyed the pie.  The neat thing is that the grapes were from the farm.  Next year maybe Lisa and I will try making jam from the grapes!  We will all just have to wait and see!

The Electrical Passed

Congratulations George and all your hard work you did in getting the electricity up to code at the farm.  You and BJ worked hard to get everything perfect and we all appreciate it.  For the county we live in the Electricity codes are tough and it took a while to get everything to meet the codes.  With this complete George and Lisa's house is a step closer to truly being finished. Now that the electricity is approved the electric company can come out and finish with the power poles and we all will have our own meters and electric bills.  With the good comes the bad, haha!
While George and BJ dealt with the inspector yesterday Tim, Lisa and I went to town to grocery shop.  With the exception of last week, buying just the things I needed to make Thanksgiving dinner, I have not done a big shop since the beginning of October.  So my list was long but I am trying out some new recipes and I will share them with you when I do. There are two recipes I am excited to try, the first one is chocolate peanut clusters made in the crock pot and the second is a chicken cordon blue casserole.  Both sound yummy!  Check back and see!

A Quick Trip To Asheville, NC

So I got a Birthday present early, my Birthday is Friday, but we had to drive to Asheville to pick it up.  We took advantage of Cyber Monday and got a new TV for our bedroom.  The TV that is in our bedroom now will move down to my Crafty Cottage.  We still have to get the TV bracket to hang the TV in the craftroom, along with an antenna, but after we have those Tim will mount the TV.  Now I may never leave my Crafty Cottage.  The drive took about and hour and a half but it is an easy drive and driving through the mountains was nice.  We did some Christmas shopping after picking up the TV and I also went into Joann's to get some items for some gifts I want to make.  We had a nice day and it was fun to get a Birthday gift early!

A Day Of Christmas Decorating

I spent all day decorating the RV for Christmas.  Christmas is my favorite holiday again.  I say again because while I was working at Toys R Us I got so I hated Christmas but since I have been retired I have grown to love Christmas again.  I have had our decorations in storage for a few years so when I was unpacking our decorations  it took a little longer because everything had a memory that I thought about each time I took something out of the boxes.  Decorating the tree took some time for two reasons, 1) the memories and 2) making space for all the new ornaments we have received the past couple of years.  The trees are full and look pretty good.  I am almost done I just have to finish the dining table.  I have posted some pictures of my progress.  Check back for more later on!

A Crafty Sunday

I have enjoyed the last three days working away in the Crafty Cottage.  I started my first Christmas decoration project for this year.  I had to make a mock up one first to see if I liked it and since I did I decided to make seven more. I was working on Christmas faces banner. There was a lot of pieces to this project but it turned out great, in my opinion.  A couple of years I made some Halloween faces banners and this year my daughter Jenny asked me to make a Christmas one so I did.  It was the first Christmas decoration I put up this year.  I have plans for more projects but today I am going to concentrate on getting my Christmas trees up and decorated along with the rest of our Christmas decorations.  I will post pictures of my progress.  Happy Monday to you all.