The Door Project

Lisa found a project she wanted to do for her new house on Pinterest and we all got on board with it.  After figuring out what pictures she wanted to use she and George went and found a used door with enough framed windows to do the project.  Once they found the door they ordered the pictures to be printed and they were nice enough to use my brother and sister in law's business Pixanddubs located in Laguna Niguel, CA (Pixanddubs.com)  They have a great website so no matter where you live you can order and get your pictures, DVDs, etc done.  While waiting for the pictures to arrive Lisa prepared the door , painted it and then George helped her put the hooks on one side of the door.  After the door was ready Tim and George hung the door.  When the pictures arrived Lisa and George arranged the pictures and then Tim and George hung the door on the wall.  Now they have a beautiful piece of art the not only shows the building of the house but also doubles as a coat rack.  Great job Lisa and George!

Super Bowl Prep

I am ready for the Super Bowl!  Lisa and I decided that for the Super Bowl we were going to have a Taco bar.  We will make everything we need before the game, set out the food then sit down and enjoy the game.  This year I don't have any real interest in the teams.  I am not a Patriots fan nor am I a Seahawks fan which means I will be watching the Super Bowl for the commercials and the Half Time show.  We did our shopping early because it is suppose to snow again.  I will just leave that alone.  So, we are ready for the game which we will be watching on a 65" screen; it will seem like we  are at the game, sort of.  Who are you rooting for?

The Barn Door

Last week we took a ride into the Knoxville area to pick up an old barn door.  George had a vision for his living room of having an old barn door hung to close up their office area and have a place to hang his 65" TV.  He has been looking for months and finally found one.  Tim and George have spent the last couple of days hanging the barn door and the TV and it looks great.  The door is a great rustic finish in his living room and the perfect place to hang his TV.  Great job George, it was the perfect touch!  Good job to Tim and George in getting it all done with Lisa's help too!  It looks like we will be watching the Super Bowl on the giant TV now!  Woo Hoo!

Mother Nature Hates Me

So yesterday I went on and on about being prepared and then nothing happened.  Shortly after I posted yesterday's blog it began to snow.  It snowed for a couple of hours and I figured Mother Nature made it snow to show how wrong I was.  Once it quit snowing it did not last long.  It cleared for a brief moment and the mountains were snow covered and beautiful.  It is going to be cold the next few days, especially at night!  Hey, Mother Nature, is it going to be as cold as predicted or do you want to make a fool out of me again and give us warm and sunny days.  That would show me!

I Prepared For Nothing!?!

I know I am new at rural living and so I do kind of over prepare for bad weather.  I don't think that is a bad thing but now I know when my neighbors, Reg and Cheryl, kind of laughed at me yesterday about the snowfall we were going to get saying it wasn't going to happen.  The weather really did look like we were going to get that Alberta Clipper that dropped snow through the midwest and turned in the Northeast blizzard and all the maps both local and national showed our area that we live would get some snow but we got nothing!  So, I am glad I was prepared but a little disappointed too.  It's not that I want to get stuck at home it's just I was looking forward to maybe plaing in the snow and sled down the great hills that are on the farm.  The road that leads to the farm is another thing.  We will get "trapped" at the farm if that ices over or gets so muddy or sloppy it is not safe to drive.  We have been fortunate so far with the road and George has been working really hard in preparing the road so that doesn't happen; thanks George!  So, no snow today and now, after writing this, I hope I did not "curse" myself for bad weather to hit us hard!

Shadow And The Jumping Cow

i mentioned in the blog a couple of days ago about a neighboring cow snacking on the grass in the orchard.  Well yesterday the cow and Shadow got introduced.  Tim and George had run down to the Orchard and saw the cow "visiting" again.  Shadow was with them and being a typical dog he was curious and decided to check out the cow.  The cow had the same idea and actually  made the first move by sniffing Shadow's rear end when they approached each other.  Tim and George were closely monitoring the whole time just in case the cow decided to kick or something.  Shadow and the cow were friendly but kept a distance too.  After a while they got bored with eachother and the cow returned to eating the orchard grass and Shadow decided to go back up the hill and sit outside the a RV.  We kept thinking that there was a break in the fence line between the cow farm and the farm but we found out from the farmer who owns the cow that this particular cow can jump.  So everyday the cow jumps the fence to eat the orchard grass at at night, when it is feeding time, she jumps the fence again to go home.  Someday I would love to watch the cow do it.  It maybe be time to put up a camera down by the fence line and try to get some footage of the cow jumping.  Shadow now has a new friend and since we don't know the cow's name I guess we will have to give her one while she is a visitor at the farm.  Any suggestions on a name?

The First Snow Of 2015

We have had the first snowfall of 2015 in Parrottsville. It only snowed about an inch and a half but it was pretty and at this point it is still fun to see and be in snow. It snowed for a couple of hours but once it quit we knew that in a couple of hours it would all melt. I took a few pictures of the snow before it melted. By 5:00pm the only evidence of snow was the dusting of snow in the mountains. The mountains that are directly East of us were completely covered in snow and we're beautiful. The clouds had just cleared over those mountains at sunset. Hopefully it will be clear today and I can get some pictures.  It was a quiet Saturday for us but every once in a while it is nice to have a do nothing day.  Today it is suppose to be sunny and warm (around 50 degrees) and then late tonight and tomorrow we are suppose to get more snow.  Once again, it will be a wait and see day.  Happy Sunday to all!

American Sniper

We went and saw American Sniper yesterday and it was a great movie. It is a true story about America's best sniper. He had 160 kills during the Gulf War and was a real asset to have around. I knew a little bit about Chris Kyle but now after seeing the movie I have a deeper respect for him and anyone who served in the Gulf. Thank you to all. After the movie we had a late lunch/early dinner. The rain worked around us yesterday. It poured almost all morning but quit just before we left for the movie. It did not begin to rain again until we got home. We may be getting some snow today then again on Monday or Tuesday. I guess we will have to wait and see. If you do not have much to do this week end go see the movie American Sniper, you won't be disappointed.

Knoxville World's Fair

While I was in Knoxville this week I learned something I did not know or do not remember. Knoxville was host to the 1982 World's Fair. It was known as the Knoxville International Energy Exposition and the theme was "Energy Turns The World". It opened May 1, 1982 and ran through October 31, 1982. There were over 11 million visitors with 16 countries participating. The fair was constructed on a 70 acre site between downtown Knoxville and the Univeristy of Tennessee. This was the second World's Fair to be held in Tennessee the first one was the Tennessee Centennial Exposition of 1897 in Nashville, TN. The Sunsphere was built for the 1982 World's Fair. It is 266 foot high hexagonal steel truss structure topped with a 76 ft gold colored glass sphere and today it remains a symbol for the city of Knoxville. Some of the new inventions that came from the 1982 World's Fair was touch screen display screens, boxed milk and the Cherry Coke flavor by Coca Cola. Also the local fast food chain in Knoxville Petro's Chili & Chips. Today the fair grounds is now the site of th Knoxville Convention Center and is also where the Knoxville Museum of Art is located. The rest of the fair grounds was taken over by the University of Tennessee. The Sunsphere is still in operation today with a 4th floor observation deck and the 5th and 6th floors used to host special events. On my next trip to Knoxville, if weather permits, I will be visiting the area where the 1982 World's Fair was and going up into the Sunsphere.

The Golf Cart Makeover Part 2

With the good weather we have had these past few days Tim has been able to make real progress on the Golf Cart.  He has painted and reinstalled the floorboards and have cleaned up and painted the wheel wells and mud flaps and once they were dry he put them on the cart too.  He also did some diamond plate work on the sides of the cart.  The new rear tires are on and we just received the new front tires yesterday so they will be going on the cart today.  It is beginning to look like a vehicle again!  Tim is doing a great job on the cart.
Today is suppose to be our last warmer and sunny day.  Starting tomorrow and lasting for about 5 days rain then later snow is suppose to be moving in.  I guess it will be a wait and see game.  The jet stream is suppose to stay below us and once that begins to move we are suppose to get hit with the Alberta Clipper coming down from Canada.  So we are prepared to get some cold and nasty weather.
We did have a visitor at the farm yesterday.  One of the cows from a neighboring farm decided to visit the orchard yesterday.  When Lisa went to get a closer picture the cow ran off but later came back to graze some more.  I guess George and Lisa must have better grass!

A Return To Knoxville

We ( Lisa, George, Tim and I) did a return trip to Knoxville yesterday.  It was not planned but George, whose has been looking to buy a barn door - an old one, found one on Craigslist so we headed to Knoxville around 10:30 am.  George and Tim drove Old Whitey ( a 1978 Ford truck with a huge truck bed) and Lisa and I followed in Lisa's car.  We probably could of fit all four of us on the bench seat of the truck except there were not enough seat belts.  While Tim and George went to get the door Lisa and I went to pick up my new glasses.  We then met up at a Texas Roadhouse in Knoxville for lunch.  At first we were all going to look at the door but George decided he really didn't want to drive Old Whitey all over Knoxville.  Lisa and I also went to Trader Joe's and Toys 'R' Us.  It was a beautiful day, sunny and the temperature got up to 65 degrees; it felt great!  Next week they are forecasting snow for us. So, we had another good day in Knoxville!

The Power Went Out?

We were sitting in the living room watching the Today Show when all of a sudden the power goes out.  At first we just kind of looked at eachother thinking if we blew a fuse.  I text George and Lisa to see if their power was out and it was.  Lisa text our closest neighbors and theirs was out also.  Now I could understand the power going out if it were stormy, icy, windy, etc but it was a beautiful day.  No wind, mid 40's out and sunny.  So George jumped into his car to see if a tree had fallen but everything was fine.  We called the power company and they just said that our area had a power outage.  Being without power is kind of a pain here only because we need the power to operate the well pump.  Without the well pump, we don't have water.  Our heat and stove run on propane so we can still have heat and we can eat.  Going to the bathroom or washing up, that is a problem.  Normally we can store water in our water tank but with freezing temperatures we don't do that right now.  So, what do you do without power?  I took advantage and  while Tim worked on the golf cart I worked in the Crafty Cottage. The sun was shining bright which would give some solar heat in the cottage and since I was working on my Doorprizes I could do that with out electricity.  Lisa came by to chat and low and behold the power came back on shortly after that.  We still do not know what caused the outage but we were happy to have the power back on. I spent the rest of the day working and finishing the Doorprizes.  I did get a call from my great friend Debbie.  We talked for a while and it was fun catching up.  Thanks Debbie for calling, love ya!  

Today is suppose to be another warm and sunny day so we will probably be hanging around the farm unless George and Lisa decide to do another flooring run and then we will be happy to join them.  This time we will be driving to North Carolina.

A Trip To Knoxville

Tim, Lisa, George and I took a little drive to Knoxville yesterday to run some errands. My glasses broke and I had a year warranty on them so I found a place that would honor the warranty but it was in Knoxville. Of course they did not have my frames nor did they have a pair that my lenses would go into so I had to pick out new frames and have some new lenses made up.  They will be ready today which means another run to Knoxville.  George and Lisa went to Rooms To Go and then to a flooring place to look for the wood floor they want to put in their home.  They picked out a few pieces but the jury is still out on their decision.  We did stop at Bass Pro to look atound.  We don't go to Bass Pro for the fishing equipment we go there for a lot of other stuff.  They have a great clothing line, things for the home and really good food mixes.  I had bought Tim a canister of sausage gravy mix for Christmas from Bass Pro.  It makes some of the best sausage gravy to put over biscuits.  All you have to do is add some ground sausage into the mix with some water and it makes some of the best biscuits and gravy we have ever had.  It is Uncle Buck's biscuit gravy mix so  I also picked up some corn bread mix too.  We were hoping to eat at a Texas Roadchouse but there was not any around us so we settled for Perkins and we are glad we did.  The food was great and the prices were very reasonable.  I even, cough cough, ordered from the Age 55 and older menu.  Hey, it saved me enough to get a piece of French Silk pie for dessert.  It was a good day and it is always fun to go to the "big city".

The Golf Cart Is Getting A Makeover

Tim has been working hard on the Golf Cart and has taken everything off so that it is down to the frame with the body off to the side. This is Tim's first Golf Cart that he has worked on but he has done this to several cars before so he is very familar and very good at doing this. When he did get the body off the cart he discovered that the frame has had some issues and will have to be welded but until he gets it to town he did clean up the rest of the frame and yesterday, since is was warm and sunny (56 degrees), he was able to get the frame painted. So the cart is on it's way with the makeover. The four tires that came on the cart Tim was hoping to salvage at least two of them but they are pretty much shot so he has ordered two more tires. Tim has already ordered and received two rear tires with extra traction. Once the cart is done it will have new batteries, new tires and whatever else it is going to need. So, the makeover has begun on the golf cart and I will keep you updated with it's progress along the way. Tim enjoys doing this kind of thing and it has been a long time since he has done a project like this. Now all we need is to have some decent weather (no rain) so he can continue to work on the cart.

Reorganizing

I spent most of the day reorganizing the cabinets in the RV so that all of our clothes are out of boxes and in cabinets.  Okay, I spent the morning reorganizing and most of the afternoon with Lisa just talking and getting all caught up. Lisa had brought us a mandarin orange cake that was delicious.  I was making myself scarce during the first few days of my cold so that she and George would not get it.  I hope it worked!  I did work in the crafty cottage for a little bit in the late afternoon and finally figured out the third Doorprize.  So today I will make 11 sets of that door prize then all I have to do is come up with boxes for each Doorprize.  It is suppose to be warm (54 degrees) today and sunny so Tim will be painting the frame of the golf cart.  We are all looking forward to the sun today! Happy Saturday!

A Quick Update

I am full of cold but that is all it is so in a couple of days it should be gone.  I went to the store yesterday and got some good cold medicine so I am on the road to recovery.  I did work in the Crafty Cottage yesterday afternoon for a couple of hours finishing up my second set of Doorprizes so I only have one more to go.  Today I will be working in the RV reorganizing the cabinets so we can put more items away from the storage shed.  Tim is busy organizing the outside shed and has brought a few boxes inside for me to work on, Woo Hoo!

A Cold, Really?

I am a pretty healthy person that does not get sick and even when I do I usually do not let it affect me.   I thought for sure that I just had a sinus infection and took a sinus pill to relieve the sinus headache.  But early Wednesday morning (about 3:00 am) that changed and turned into a head cold.  I was still doing good until about 2:00 Wednesday afternoon when all of a sudden an aching feeling came over me.  I finished up on the door prize card I was working on and headed up to the RV.  I layer down for a while and ended up sleeping a couple of hours ( something I don't do).  I felt better when I woke up  so Tim made dinner and we ate.  I was okay for another hour or two then I got tired and went to bed.  Today I am full of cold but i don't feel too bad...yet!  I hope this will just be a cold and nothing else!  I don't know where I got the virus from because the three other people I am in constant contact with are not sick.  Hmm, maybe going to town was not a great thing to do afterall!

AnotherYucky Day!

It was another yucky day outside; cold with a misty rain keeping it damp and miserable.  Tim has begun working on the golf cart and has disassembled it down to the frame.  There is a lot to do before the cart will be up and running.  It was in worse shape than we though but the good thing is that Tim can fix it and when he is done it will look and run great.  So what does the golf cart have to do with a yucky day?  Since it was yucky out Tim could not work on the golf cart so we decided it would be a good day to go to town and run some errands.  Once again, when we go to town we do everything we can in one trip which usually means we fill up the back of the car with our purchases.  George and Lisa joined us so we decided to have a nice lunch while we were out.  One of the nicest places to eat is Ruby Tuesdy in Newport so that is why we eat there so much.  Of course the monthly coupons I get in my email for Ruby Tuesday helps to go there too!  So we made the best of a yucky day by getting out, running errands and having a nice lunch.  Hmm, maybe it was only a yucky day because of the weather.  The rest of the day was actually pretty good!

Oh Ducks!

Oh Ducks, I thought for sure they would be able to beat Ohio State for the College Championship but they just seemed not to be able and get the game together.  Congratulations to Ohio State for bring the first College Championship Team.  Why do I like the Ducks?  They are a fun team to follow and are pretty easy to follow.  A few years ago when we visited Washington and Oregon we began following the Oregon Ducks and have followed them since.  They are a good football team but they just could not play the game the way they are use to.  Good season Ducks, you will do well next year!

Doorprizes, Doorprizes, Doorprizes!

I spent the day working on Doorprizes and watching football.  As a Chicago Bears fan it hurt me to say "Go Packers" yesterday but since the Bears were not in the playoffs I guess it was okay to root for the Green Bay Packers.  They won and will play for the NFC championship next Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks; Go Packers!  However my Denver Broncos are out of it after their loss the the Indianapolis Colts.  Nice season Broncos!  I was busy working on Doorprizes for my sister Pam and her SAS.  I am responsible for three sets of Doorprizes and I have finally figured them out.  Now all I have to do is make eight sets of the three different Doorprizes.  I have some work to do but at least I know what I am going to do and now I can just make them.  My goal is to get them sent out by Saturday!  Fingers crossed I can get them all done this week!  Pam is so good to me by supplying me with new stamp sets and extras that I don't mind at all making the  Doorprizes.  I better get busy!

Another Really Good Recipe

I am all about comfort food and I tried another new recipe that sounded good and it was easy to fix.  I like easy recipes.  The new recipe is called Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole.  It uses cooked rice and chicken so it takes about 15 minutes to prepare and only 30 minutes to bake in the oven.  I did make this recipe just before Christmas but I wanted to try it again.  The nice thing is the recipe makes a lot and it freezes really well.  If you like Chicken Cordon Bleu then you will love this casserole.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole
Ingredients:
2 cups cooked rice
3 cups cooked chicken (canned chicken breast works well)
6 slices of Swiss cheese
1 pound ham (sliced or cubed)
2 (14oz) cans of cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
15 saltines (crushed)
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon parsley (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Spray a 9x13 cake pan with cooking spray
Put the cooked rice into the bottom of the pan.
Place the cooked chicken on top of the rice
Place 6 slices of Swiss cheese on top of the chicken
Place the ham on top of the cheese
In a small bowl combine the cream of chicken soup, milk and sour cream, stir until mixed
Pour the soup mixture over the ham
In a Baggie place the saltines and crush.  Add the paprika, garlic salt & parsley and shake until mixed
Sprinkle the saltine mixture on top of the soup
Place the pan in the oven and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

I got this recipe from Pinterest.  Try it, I think you will like it!

Into The Woods

Since it was another cold day we decided it would be a good day to go see a movie.  Newport's movie theater has four screens, shows first run movies and only charges $5.00 per ticket.  The theaters are older with regular movies theater seats but for $5.00 who cares!  We went and saw "Into The Woods" and it was good.  I was not real familiar with the musical but I did enjoy it.  I'm not sure what Tim, Lisa and George felt about it but we were all impressed with Meryl Streep's performance and singing.  

Johnny Depp's role was a little creepy and Emily Blunt was very good.  Combining four nursery tales together was interesting and well done.  Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel and Little Red Ridinghood did combine into a good storyline.  If you get the chance, check it out! 

It Was A Cold Day

It has been over 20 years since I have been in really cold temperatures and so yesterday I got to experience it again.  It was cold.  When I woke up yesterday morning I checked my phone and it said it was 4 degrees, 4 degrees!  Living in Florida for over 20 years has spoiled me but now it is time to tougher up and learn how to stay warm again.  I dressed in layers and it kept me  plenty warm.  The cold weather is going to stick around for a few days so I guess I better get use to  it.  I spent half my day in the Crafty cottage and the other half in the RV cooking for last night's meal.  Today I will be busy again in the Crafty Cottage working on Doorprizes. Check back and see if we can keep warm.

Ole Smokey Moonshine

Ole Smokey Moonshine is now sold in all 50 States but the distillery is located in downtown Gatlinburg. The Holler is located in Gatlinburg and The Barn is located near Gatlinburg.  The Holler has two working copper stills and shows the complete processing and history of making moonshine.  It was interesting and they use the recipe for moonshine that they have been using for over 100 years.  Ole Smokey Moonshine Distillery makes and distributes several flavored moonshines.  They make original moonshine and white lightnin' that are 100 proof, strawberry lightnin', lemon drop lightnin' and hunch punch that are 80 proof, moonshine cherries 40 proof and their flavored 40 proof moonshines: peach, Apple pie, blackberry, strawberry, lemon drop, pineapple, watermelon, sweet tea and charred moonshine.  We bought the Apple pie and George & Lisa bought the peach.  Tim tried the pumpkin pie moonshine too.  It was fun to see how it is made and try the different 'shines' and we will visit them again when we visit Gatlinburg again.  At the Holler there is always a bluegrass band playing too which really makes the visit even more fun!

Gatlinburg Winter Magic

We spent the afternoon and evening in Gatlinburg for our first date from the Date in a Box.  I have heard about Gatlinburg Winter Magic and I was looking forward to going and I am so glad we did.  We had a great time.  Gatlinburg Winter Magic runs for four months (November through February) and the streets of Gatlinburg are decorated with over a million lights. Winter Magic started in 1989 and is a popular tourist attraction.  The lights have been changed over to all LED lights so the lights are brighter.  The downtown area is decorated with white lights with special displays of lights in different areas.  Once you leave the downtown area you can continue to drive through crafters row for colorful displays of bears featuring the different crafts in the area.  We choose to visit Gatlinburg after the holidays and when the local schools were back in session.  It was a good decision because it was quiet and we were able to enjoy the shops and restaurants at our own leisurely pace.  We had a late lunch at Crawdaddys then walked all over downtown.  We even did a wine tasting and moonshine tasting.  We did the wine tasting at Bootleeggers Home Made Wine and they had some great sweet wines (our favorite) but the names they had for their wines were great.  I liked them all and we bought a bottle of Scuppernong.  After the wine tasting we then went to visit Old Smokey Moonshine Distillery.  We tasted almost all the moonshine they had to offer from the flavored 40 proof moonshine to the 180 proof white lightning.  I even tried a moonshine cherry.  The white lightning burned all the way down and I thought it was yucky.  Our favorites were the Apple Pie moonshine and the peach moonshine.  So, I can now say I have had Tennessee moonshine and that it was not bad.  The lights and lighting displays were beautiful and it was a great way to end our day in Gatlinburg.  We had a great time enjoying Gatlinburg with George and Lisa and we found even more things we want to do in Gatlinburg so we will be back!

I Work For Stamps

I received a wonderful box from my sister Pam yesterday.  It was a box full of new stamp sets but it came for a purpose.  My sister Pam is a Stampin Up demonstrator and she hosts Stamp And Stacks (SAS) classes six times a year.  It is a very popular event for her and the last few I have helped her with some of the cards and Doorprizes.  So, I will be busy this next week or two working on one card, first, and then the door prizes.  The January event is featuring the new stamp sets that come out today from the Occasions catalog along with the Sale-a-bration catalog.  There are some really great sets in it and I am looking forward to begin to create with the sets.  I will be showing what I have done on this blog from time to time.  If you are interested in Stampin Up, looking for a demonstrator or just curious please contact my sister Pam and she would be happy to help you out.

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Today we are doing our first date from Date In A Box gift that Lisa and I gave Tim and George.  We are going to Gatlinburg, TN to see the Festival of Lights.  I have heard it is beautiful so we will find out.  Check back tomorrow to see how it was!

Wacky Weather

Yes, it has been wacky weather here at the farm.  A couple of days ago we were bundled up and trying to stay warm then we get three days of rain and yesterday the temperature was 66 degrees.  Today it is suppose to be 40 degrees.  Then it is going to be cold the rest of the week with 20s and 30s during the day and single digits at night, yuck!
Yesterday I took down all the Christmas decorations, packed them up and Tim put them away in the shed.  After cleaning up I then spent the rest of the day cleaning up the crafty cottage.  It looks pretty good and I am now ready to spend the next few days creating door prizes and cards for my sister's SAS at the end of this month.  So I will be busy for the next few days.  Check back and see what Iget done!

Date In A Box

I gave Tim one final Christmas present yesterday, this was the surprise I mentioned a couple of days ago, it was A Date In A Box. I saw this idea on Pinterest before the holidays.  I mentioned the idea to Lisa and she liked it so she made one for George too.  I came up with 12 different date ideas and then figured out how to represent them then placed the "date" in a box or envelope and labeled the dates

1 - 12. There are two ways your can do the date in the box; the first way is when they open the box they can also open each number to see all the dates.  The second way is that at the beginning of every month they open the corresponding number for that month and see what date it will be.  We chose the latter and so Tim and George opened boxed number 1 and inside was a Christmas tree lightbulb.  What did that mean?  It was our way of representing an afternoon in Gatlinburg, staying after dark, so we can see the Christmas light displays.  Gatlinburg is suppose to have a spectacular display and it is open through January so that is date one.  I think Tim and George liked it and Lisa and I will get the benefits of the dates too!  I won't mention what kind of dates we placed in our box that way the element of surprise will be there each month for Tim and George. Some ideas could be coffee at a favorite coffee place, boat ride on a river or lake, dinner and a movie, a walk in the forest or park, etc.  so each month I will share what each date will be after they have opened it.  We had fun in coming up with ideas and then figuring out how to represent the date.  I spent about a day getting everything together and making the boxes, cards, etc.  once that was done putting the "dates" in the date  box was easy.  So for a fun, once a month date try making up your own Date In A Box.  The ideas can be simple or extravagant, cheap or expensive but will be creative.  All you need is a good size box,12 ideas, and then things to represent the date.  Keep checking back and see what our "date" will be each month!

The Making of Trees

Starting at Thanksgiving and through Christmas I was busy making several of the gifts I gave this year.  For the past few years I have given several gifts that I made.  This year was no exception.  I could not show some of the items I made because some of you were going to receive them. I did take pictures while I was making some of the gifts. The trees was a brand new item that I had not made before but one I really did enjoy making and ended making eight.  One for myself, one for Lisa and the rest were gifts.  If you were one that received a tree I would love some feedback as I am thinking about selling some of my paper items next fall during the Fall Festival season.  What I would like some feed back on is the like of tree, price if you were to buy one and opinion on whether they would sell or not.  The trees were a fun item to make and I look forward to making more.  

Today Lisa and I will finish up a surprise then I will share what it is in tomorrow's blog. Check back and see what it is.

2015 Started Quietly

2015 started quietly and it may be how 2015 will be for us this year.   We had a nice and quiet New Years Eve and spent it with our wonderful friends, George and Lisa.  I spent most of the day yesterday in the Crafty Cottage working on Thank You Cards and getting the cottage cleaned up.  Working on Christmas crafts until the day I left for Florida did leave a small mess.  Now it is time to put away my Christmas craft supplies and start thinking about Valentine's Day decorations and get my CCC club cards done for January.  Over the next few days I will be blogging on some of the Christmas crafts that I have made this year as gifts.  I could not do it earlier since some of you received the gifts I made. If you did receive a gift I would love some feedback because I am considering getting my own table at the different Fall Festivals next year and try selling some of the crafts I made.
One new change for me this year, I am now a Tennessee resident.  I got my Driver's license, registered to vote and became an organ donor.  Eventhough I have lived in six different states this is only the third state that I have become a resident; Illinois and Florida were the other two. The three other states  I lived in while we were in the military but we keep our home state residency.
2015, so far, has been quiet, creative and we have officially made Tennessee our home.  Just Another Day At The Farm will continue to be everyday events for me here at the farm and wherever or whatever I do and there is a lot to do around here both at the farm and around the area.  Check back tomorrow for a surprise that Lisa and I will be preparing for Tim and George. Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! Welcome 2015 and a fond farewell to 2014.  2014 was a good year and we have a lot to be thankful for.  Our travels, our family and friends, the birth of our beautiful granddaughter Rory and settling down in Eastern Tennessee.  We are happy, healthy and blessed.  Thank you 2014.  2015 started off for us sharing the new year with Lisa and George.  We watched the bowls games, had great chicken parmesean and drank wine from a local winery just a couple of miles from where we live.  So Welcome 2015 and Happy New Year to all!