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.