Saturday Creations and BBQ Too!

I spent most of the day in the Crafty Cottage working on my Valentine's cards and then working on the SAS cards from my sister's SAS that happened this week end.  I won't be able to show the Valentine's cards because some of you may be receiving them but I will share the SAS cards.  Just before I began to work on the SAS cards my sister Facetimed me because all the ladies who were at her house for the SAS wanted to say "Hello".  It was a great surprise and it was so good to see them all.  I wish I was there with them but at least we did the cards together, sort of.  Thanks Pam for the call, it was a wonderful surprise. 
It was a beautiful day yesterday, sunny and 60 degrees.  We did have a BBQ and we only had Hamburgers but they tasted really good.  I guess it has been a while since we grilled.  We got so use to grilling every night through out last summer.  We will be doing it soon enough.  It was a good day!

What A Difference A Week Makes

A week ago the eastern part of the this country was fighting a major blizzard dumping up to 40 inches of snow in some places.  We ended up with over 8 inches of snow which is nothing in comparison but was a lot of snow for this area and had us stranded on the farm for a couple of days.  This week end we are having a BBQ. It is suppose to be sunny and 60 degrees today.  The snow is gone in most areas.  We still have some on the north side of the farm where the sun doesn't shine but that will be gone by tomorrow.  So for the next few days we get to enjoy an early spring until Wednesday when we are due to get some snow again.  This is winter in eastern Tennessee. I am looking forward to the BBQ!  Check back and see how it went.

"Mozart In The Jungle"

While watching the Golden Globes a couple of weeks ago one of the shows nominated and won for best comedy on TV was "Mozart In The Jungle".  I had never heard of it before and then I found out why.  It is an Amazon Prime show.  Luckily I have a connection to Amazon Prime so I checked out the show.  It is a 30 minute comedy about the New York City Orchestra, the young conductor and a young Oboist.  The cast is good and the show is too.  I was hooked after the first episode. There are two seasons, so far, and I am half way through the first season in just two days.  Of course it helps that the show is 30 minutes without commercials and once an episode starts it draws you in.  It is too bad that this show is only available on Amazon Prime.  It you have Amazon Prime or know someone who has it check out the show.  It is good and now I understand why this show won the Golden Globe.

A New Thermostat

We have a new thermostat in the RV.  The original one kind of quit working or only worked when it thought it should at a certain temperature.  Hot in the summer, cold in the winter.  So after Tim did some research he decided to upgrade to a thermostat that is programmable.  We can now set the thermostat to get warmer in the morning and cooler in the evening and can even set if so when we are not home to go down or up.  This is a good thing because now we can make sure that the RV stays cool when it is suppose to and warm when it should be.  Tim had to do some rewiring to get it to work since the old one was a manual one but it works great and will keep us warm in the winter and cool in summer.  Great job Tim!

"13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers Of Benghazi"

We have seen a lot of movies so far in the New Year and I have just seen the best movie so far.  "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers Of Benghazi" was excellent and I believe depicts the true events of what happened in Benghazi on September 11, 2012.  It was an action packed movie and it gave you a taste of what it was like in Benghazi, Libya.  What a complicated situation it was over there and one an eye opener after seeing this film.  There have been some disputes on whether the film is a true story but they seem so incidental which is why I do believe how well done this movie was in portraying what did and did not happen in Benghazi.  All I can say is that I believe every American needs to go see this movie and then form their own opinion.  As an American I would like to thank those Secret Soldiers for all that they did to defend the CIA operations and the temporary US Embassy compound.  To the four that lost their lives I honor you.  This is not meant to be a political blog but this film puts a lot of things in perspective and hopefully open some eyes and minds for the elections coming up.  Plain and simple, please go see this film; it is excellent!

The Sky Is The Limit DP

My Sister Pam is starting her new year with her Stamp and Stacks aka SAS and I helped her with the Door Prizes (DP) again for her first one.  At her SAS you get to make 10 cards, rubber stamping, you get lunch, a make and take and door prizes and there is usually an extra surprise.  It is a great way to spend an evening or day hanging out with other stampers doing what you love to do.  I will miss not being there but I will be there in spirit.  I will be able to make the cards because Pam made me a set to put together so on Saturday I will be making my SAS cards just minus the company.  I made three door prizes for this SAS.    There is a new mini catalog for Stampin' Up, Pam is a demonstrator, so I got to use all new sets to create the door prizes.  The first set, The Sky Is The Limit, is what I made the cards posted with.  I hope the ladies like it!

Hawaiian Pork And Football

Congratulations to the Denver Broncos!  They are the AFC Champs and are going to Super Bowl 50 and congratulations to the Carolina Panthers who became the NFC Champs and will competing against the Broncos.  The Broncos have been one of the teams I have been following the past few years so since the Chicago Bears did not have a good season I am so happy that the Broncos did.  So who am I going for?  Duh, the Denver Broncos.
I made dinner, Hawaiian Pork, and Lisa and George came to dinner and watch the game.  I have to say after thinking that the Broncos had the game during the entire first half the Patriots made it a game until the very last few seconds.  It was a good game and both teams played well.  I have to admit I started watching the Panthers/Cardinals game but mid way through the second quarter I changed the channel to "Downton Abbey". 
It was a beautiful day yesterday with the sun shining and a lot of the snow we received began to melt.  Tim took an early morning walk yesterday, before the snow began to melt, and he took some nice pictures that I will post.  Thanks Tim, they are beautiful.  It was a good day and so let me wrap up by saying GO BRONCOS!

We Got Snow!

I guess Mother Nature did not like me saying that we lived under a dome.  It started snowing at 7:00 pm on Friday night and did not quit until late Saturday night.  We ended up getting more than 8 inches of snow and it is a heavy snow but it is perfect for snowball fights, snowman and sledding.  I did none of those yesterday because I decided to venture down to my Crafty Cottage, slipped and fell and twisted my ankle.  My hiking boots no longer have enough tread to walk around in snow and this was a tough way of finding out.  I will be fine and feel more embarrassed than anything else.  We also had the battle of the hill when we went down to pick up our mail and our 4 wheel drive jeep hit some ice on the hill on the way up and we were stopped midway up the hill.  Tim and I had to climb the rest of the hill on foot, not good with a twisted ankle, but we made it then Tim and George got the car unstuck and Tim drove it to the bottom of the hill and parked it until the ice thaws on the hill.  So, after having some problems we had to find some fun to end the day and Tim did it.  After he was done walking Shadow for the night he found a huge icicle on the RV.  He brought it in and took a flashlight and created his own Light Saber.  He did it in honor of our son in law, Nate, who loves Star Wars.  It was a good day over all and the snow is beautiful. 

We Live Under A Dome

It was amazing after hearing all of the weather reports about the storm that was coming it appears that our area of eastern Tennessee was under a dome yesterday.  We got the rain and the wind but then the rain stopped and the sun came out.  It did continue to get colder and the wind kept blowing with some pretty amazing gusts but that was about it.  In all directions around us it was snowing just not on us.  I am not complaining at all.  Last night we did get some snow, about 4 inches, and it came fast.  Most of the snow we have happened in the first couple of hours.  Since then we just get brief snow showers.  We are suppose to get more snow today so we will wait and see.  I do feel bad for all the areas that are getting clobbered by the storm.  Hang in there, it will be over soon.  As for me, I am going to enjoy the snow for a little while. We do have a killer hill that would be great for sledding if I had a sled.

It's Going To Be A Nasty Day

We knew a winter storm was coming but it came in earlier than predicted.  We were suppose to start with rain this morning but it started to rain last night around 11:00 pm.  That means we are in the sleet stage now that will be turning into snow as the day goes on.  I am not sure how much snow we will get but it could be anywhere between 4 to 18 inches.  North of us, in Kentucky and Virginia, they are predicted to get up 2 feet of snow.  We did go out yesterday and pick up some groceries to be prepared to getting stuck at the farm. We have our generator ready in case we lose power so we should be in good shape.  The rain will freeze and  turn into ice then the snow on top of the ice means we are not getting down our hill.  So, we will just enjoy our time on the farm watching football and movies and staying warm.  Check back to see what happens next!

We Got Some Snow!

We woke up to a little snow yesterday morning and it did not stop snowing until about 4:00 pm.  The snow was pretty with big flakes and was perfect for a snowball fight.  Tim and George decided to venture out in it and ran into Greeneville while Lisa and I just stayed at the farm and enjoyed the snow from inside.  Shadow and Roxie played in the snow and had fun but came in wet and cold.  We ended up getting around 4 inches of snow when it quit snowing.  Tim went out and shoveled the deck, something he has not had to do in over 25 years.  We are gearing up for more snow this week end.  Predictions are we could get up to 18 inches of snow.  This area of Tennessee has not seen that much snow since the mid 1990s.  We are ready and will just have to wait and see.  Until then we will enjoy the amount we have now and maybe run out and pick up a few groceries just in case the predictions are correct.  Check back and see!

The Garage Is Coming Along

George and Lisa's garage is coming along pretty well and George and Tim have been out during our cold snap working away on it.  Tim helped George all day on Monday but George went solo yesterday; I guess George didn't want to ask Tim to help him.  Anyway, the garage is looking good.  Nice job George!  We are expecting snow today so look for pictures tomorrow if it happens.  Only time will tell!  At least with snow coming it will warm up a little.  Stay warm all my Tennessee friends!

A Bench For The Crafty Cottage

On one of the coldest days so far this year Tim decided to build a bench for the Crafty Cottage.  He had taken the week end off and just relaxed so he was ready to do something and decided to make the bench.  I have wanted a bench for the outside of the Crafty Cottage because I thought it would be cute and on nice days a nice place to sit.  Tim did a great job and also had to do some engineering to make the bench sit level.  The ground goes down hill so he had to make one set of lets longer than the other.  We are debating on whether or not to paint it.  He is thinking white but I am thinking green to match the trim on the Crafty Cottage; I guess we will have to wait and see which color is chosen.  I will say until it warms up it is staying the color it is right now.  Thanks Tim, you did a great job and I love the bench!

Football Was Good!

The playoff games this past week end were good and each team was pretty evenly matched up.  Last week end (first week of the playoffs) all of the away teams won.  This past week end all of the home teams won.  Next week end the two game being played will be for the AFC Championship and NFC Championship.  Whoever wins those two games will play in th Super Bowl.  My Broncos are still in it and I will be rooting for them when they play against the Patriots.  As far as the Carolina Panthers against the Arizona Cardinals I am not sure who I want to win.  Needless to say there will be two new Champion teams next Sunday.  Good luck to all.  Go Broncos!

Best Picture Nominations

I have seen more movies in the theater this year than I have in probably the last 10 years.  The reason I have been fortunate enough to see so many movies is because of our little theater in Newport that runs first run movies and only charges $5.00 a ticket at all showings.  There are four theaters and the movies change weekly.  So, when movies arrive at Newport Cinema we usually only have a week to see them in.  When the Oscar nominations came out this year I actually had seen many more of the movies than I have in years past.  This is something I could get use to.  The nominations this year for Best Picture are "Bridge of Spies (good movie), Mad Max Fury Road, The Revenant (another good movie), Spotlight, The Martian, The Big Short, Room and Brooklyn.  I have seen three of the nominations and two of the nominations I have never even heard about.  For more of the nominations go to Oscar.com.  In a little over a month we will find out the winner.  Until then, I may have a chance to see some more of the Nominees.

"The Revenant"

"The Revenant" is a very intense movie and now that I have seen it I understand what all the talk is about. Leonardo Dicaprio deserves the Oscar for all he did in this role.  All I can say is WOW!  The movie is really good and it does deserve to be up for Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Director.  Revenant means someone who comes back from being dead and that is very accurate for this movie.  Some people said you will feel cold during the movie and that is true for me although it was cold outside and I have not been able to get warm.  I actually wore my gloves during the movie just to keep my hands warm.  This is a good movie and I would recommend seeing it.

"Sisters"

Lisa and I went and saw the movie "Sisters" last night and in my opinion it was really good.  I knew there would be some language in it but I also knew it would be funny especially with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler starring in it and it was.  It was the perfect movie to see after seeing the "Hateful Eight".
I know this movie came out on the same week end as "Star Wars" so it may have missed but if you want to see a fun movie then this is the one to see.  My only regret is that I did not see it with my sister Pam but Lisa was a good substitute.  It was a feel good movie!

No Powerball Winner Here

Even though one of the winning Power Ball tickets was sold in Tennessee it wasn't ours.  We did buy one ticket because after all, it only takes one ticket to win but we didn't even get one number on our ticket.  I realize that it is not surprising since the new Power Ball odds makes it even harder to win.  Congratulations to the three winners in California, Tennessee and Florida.  As far as I know none of the winners are family or friends so I guess I won't be one of "those relatives".  I could be adopted if necessary, hint-hint.  It was fun dreaming of what we would of done with the money.  Needless to say my kids and our Rory would be set up for life.  Nice dream, now back to reality!

The Hateful Eight

As we headed to the movie theater in Greeneville we were under the impression that we were seeing a western and we did but we had no idea what was going to be involved in this western.  We went to go see the "Hateful Eight" and all I have to say is if you have a weak stomach you may think twice about seeing this movie.  I am not a big Quentin Tarantino fan and have not seen many of his movies so I did not expect the blood that was involved in it.  Wow, glad my popcorn was gone by the time the shoot outs started. I will say the cast was great and played their roles really well.  If you are a Quentin Tarantino fan than you will love this movie.  If you are not; well, I will let you decide. 

The National Championshi[p

Congratulations Alabama and so sorry Clemson.  Both teams played well and made the game fun to watch until the very end.  It was close but Alabama won the game.  I was going for Clemson only because I like to go for the team that has not been in the Championship game for a while.  I guess you know now who I don't want to see in the Super Bowl this year.  Sorry Patriots and Seahawk fans.  This is just my opinion.  So congratulations again to Alabama, it was a good game.

Let There Be Heat!

Winter has come to the mountains and since we had such a mild fall we got spoiled.  Now that the temperatures are "normal" it is cold outside and so can it be inside when the heat doesn't work.  We could not figure out why our furnace was not blowing warm air.  Our tanks were full and we were ready for the cold weather but the furnace, we thought, was not.  Well, after Tim did some checking one of our propane regulators was bad.  He replaced it and now the furnace is working great and we are warm and cozy again.  Thank you Tim!  It feels so good inside!

I Love Music

I have always loved music.  Listening to it, singing it and playing it.  Music plays a huge part in my life and has from the very beginning.  The fact that music was huge to my Mom and Dad gave me a great start to loving music.  My Mom sang and was a music teacher and choir director so that gives you a good idea why I love music and my Dad always had music playing.  He always had a great stereo system, back then it was called a Hi Fi. His record collection was amazing and I remember listening to all types of music which has never changed.  I like everything from Rock to Classical, Country to Jazz, Choral to my favorite, Musicals.  I have a huge CD collection, my iTunes account is pretty nice and I love listening to Pandora.  I even have my own station created for me with the music I listen to the most.  It is called My Thumbprint station.  It is a bit weird due to the music I listen to but that is good because I get a little bit of everything.  When I am working in the Crafty Cottage it is usually music you will hear, usually blasting, if you come by.  I love music!

The End of Football Season

Last Sunday was the final Sunday of regular season NFL football.  The teams I chose to follow did not do that well this year.  My Bears played well and had several close games but just could not pull of the wins.  The Jaguars had a better season than the last few years so even though they did not have a winning record at least they were not in last place again.  The Titans, however, were in last place and with a record of 3-12 they will get the first or second draft pick.  The Broncos are in the playoffs and I am hoping they go all the way. Let's go Broncos!

The Garage Not A Garage

There was a little discussion yesterday about the garage and it kind of started by a comment I made.  I was passing by George installing the Windows on the garage and just sort of said, in a joking way, that the Windows will be nice when you turn this into a second master bedroom.  Well, that got George's wheels turning and after talking it over with Lisa the garage is now turning into a guest house and a new garage will be built on the other side of the house.  It will be a nice guest house with a really nice view!

The Garage Is Getting Sided

Here on the farm there is always some work going on and yesterday, in the sunny but cold weather, work continued.  George pulled double duty on two different jobs while Tim worked on the Little Cabin on Wheels and I was working on some cards for my sister's next SAS.  George worked in the sun and began to start putting the siding on the garage he and Tim built over the summer.  He got a few boards up but got to a stopping point so a window or two could be put in.  In the afternoon George with our neighbor borrowed another neighbor's tractor and started to grate our road down to the mailboxes. Tim would of helped but he had a doctor's appointment just for a check up. Our road is not maintained by the county so George and other caring neighbors work together to keep the road in good condition.  Thanks George for all you do!

New Digital Picture Frame

One of the Christmas presents Tim and I received was a digital picture frame and I was thrilled.  We had one but it broke.  I am guilty of taking lots of pictures but never printing any.  So my computer and/or external hard drive is storing a ton of great pictures that I look at every once in a while.  Now, I can load up an SD card and place it in the digital picture frame and enjoy them.  At first I was thinking I would just put all the pictures of Rory on it but I have such a big SD card that I have been able to load lots of our travels pics on it too.   It has been so much fun looking through all the pictures and it  has brought back so many great memories of our travels.  Thanks George and Lisa for the perfect Christmas gift!

Cold With Flurries

We are back to having winter weather here in eastern Tennessee.  It is hard to believe that a week ago it was 75 degrees and today we were lucky to get to freezing.  We even had some snow flurries today but it did not amount to anything.  We are gearing up to get down to the teens the next few nights but then it is suppose to warm up to the 50's by Thursday.   I think George might enjoy this weather since he was lucky enough to get some free horse poop for the garden beds.  Since he has been spreading it the temperatures fight now are probably right for that job.   After all, frozen horse poop doesn't stink!  Thanks George for doing such a "crappy" job!

Downton Abbey's Final Season

I am a huge Downton Abbey fan but I have not watched it for six years.  I watched the first two seasons on Netflix and Hulu because I was curious over what the big deal was.  I was hooked on it after watching the very first episode and then binge watched the first two seasons in about four days.  I finished just in time to watch season three and have not missed it since.  Last night the six and final season began and it was a great start to season six but it was also a little sad knowing this is the last season.  The PBS series on Masterpiece Theater has become the number one show for PBS. Last night it was an evening of Downton Abbey with an hour show introducing the sixth season then an hour and fifteen minute season six opening episode followed by a 45 minute show about the final season.
It is a challenge for me to watch this show because we don't always get PBS on our antenna and we don't get local stations on our Dish.  Last year I streamed it.  Last night Tim turned the antenna so I could watch it.  In doing so we lose all the other local channels but I am okay with that for the next few Sunday nights.  If you have not watched Downton Abbey and like a good period show give it a try, you won't be disappointed!

Christmas Creations

So during the Christmas season I was busy making lots of different Christmas items but I could not show most of them because some were gifts. Now that Christmas is over and most of the gifts have been given out I can show some of the items I created this year. Some of the items I created were from Pinterest and some I had seen but changed it up and some were my own.  I used several different items this year along with my paper crafts.  I used popcycle sticks, clothespins, crayons, paint, tinsel, and more.  It was fun working with different materials and I think most of the gifts given out were liked.  Of course I will never know for sure.  I am starting a new business venture but I will share more on that later this week.  I know Christmas is over but if you are interested in anything that I made they are available for purchase at very reasonable prices.  Just let me know!

Christmas Is Over!

Christmas is over at my house.  The ornaments have been packed away and all the Christmas decorations have been taken down and put away.  It makes it seem so empty but also look so clean. It's kind of funny that it takes hours to days to decorate for Christmas but only an hour or two to take everything down and put it away.  It took Tim and I about three hours total to take down, pack up and store away Christmas.  Now it is time to enjoy some of the Christmas presents I received and I got some good ones.  A new blu ray with lots of movies, a crock pot to experiment with, new flannel sheets and pillows for the bed, a new digital picture frame so I can have lots of pictures of Rory, new CDs to listen too while I am creating, a hand mixer and more.  I know some of these things may be weird to get excited about but I wanted them all and now I get to "play"!  Thanks again to all for a wonderful Christmas!  Now it is time to start living and enjoying all that 2016 has in store!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year and welcome 2016!  We had a quiet New Year's Eve with a great dinner and great friends we welcomed the new year with football and movies.  After watching Oklahoma losing to Clemson at halftime we switched to a movie, The Equilizer.  Then we tried watching the Alabama/Michigan State game but once Alabama scored  we decided to watch Intersteller.  We stopped the movie midway through to welcome the new year then went back to the movie.  It was a quiet but nice night.  So welcome 2016; I can't wait to see what this year will bring.  Happy New Year!