Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!  I hope you have a fun and safe one.  I carved my pumpkin, first one done without my kids, and I have my pumpkin seeds drying.  The seeds are the reason I carve a pumpkin.  I have always loved pumpkin seeds and this is the first time in the last four years that I have had any, Yum!  After a busy day yesterday I finally got the time to get to the pumpkin.  I bought the pumpkin from Carver's last week end.  I did not make any fancy face or pumpkin carving.  Just a plain and simple face that I have been doing for years. After the pumpkin was done I placed a candle inside the pumpkin and burned it which made it festive in here. I know we will not have any trick or treaters but we will manage to have some Halloween fun here on the farm!  Happy Halloween!

Home In Tennessee

We are back home in Tennessee and the good news is that we had an uneventful trip.  We did get everything loaded, from our storage unit, into the truck and we were on the road by 10:30.  We would of left earlier but we had to wait for the storage office to open up so we could cancel our unit.  Tim decided not to place a tarp over our things and luckily we did not need to because we were rain free.  Our trip home was a little longer only because we kept the speed down because of the load we had.  I will include a picture of the truck.  We only stopped twice on the way back; a gas/lunch break and a rest stop.  We pulled into our driveway at 7:00pm where we were welcomed by Shadow!  Lisa and George had dinner waiting too, it is nice to be home.  Thank you Lisa  and George for taking care of Shadow while we were gone.  It made the trip so much easier and we really do appreciate it!
The highlight of our trip was the fall colors in North Carolina.  It was beautiful and it has been over 20 years since I have seen colors like that in person, Wow! I tried to get pictures but the camera did not do the view justice.
Today we get to unpack the truck and put everything away either in the RV, the storage shed or the Crafty Cottage.  Woo Hoo, we will have some fun today!  I am anxiously awaiting to see all my dishes, pictures and photo albums that have been stored these last 4 years.  Hopefully I will put them away and not create a mess because I was too busy looking at everything.  Check back tomorrow to see what survived and what we may need to dispose of!  Also, the view here is getting colorful and hopefully I will get some nice pictures to share with you!

A Productive Day In Jax

We started our day with breakfast at the hotel then headed out to pick up Carrie.  We then went to NAS Jacksonville to get our new IDs.  It turned out Tim did not have to get a new one just me.  When we pulled into the parking lot the lot was almost full. We did not have an appointment so we thought that it was going to take awhile.  So we signed in and as we entered the waiting room we were pleasantly surprised to see it was relatively empty, yay!  I waited about 5 minutes, my name was called and 10 minutes later we were done and I walked out with my new ID.  Wow and thanks NAS Jax IDs I thought 4 years ago was fast but this time it was too!  So, with the IDs done we headed up to our storage locker.  Do we know how to have a good time in Jax or what?
We have not been to the storage locker since last March and we knew it was full. We expected to be there all day so we got started pulling everything out to go through it one more time before packing it up and taking it to Tennessee.  As Tim pulled out the boxes and crates Carrie and I went through them and organizing them by keep, sell (Carrie will take care of that) and trash. We did eliminate a few things but took all the clothes and several stamps to Carrie's house to go through.  We were done by Noon which surprised us. We loaded up the truck with the sell and trash items and locked up the storage unit one last time.
We headed back to Middleburg, where things have changed greatly since we lived here, had lunch at Chick Fil-A then headed to Carrie's house.  I am proud to say that after going through the clothing and stamps that I am leaving 90% of it with Carrie.  For me to give up a stamp is a miracle.  We spent a nice day with Carrie eventhough we were working.  As we were going through things lots of memories and stories were shared.
We met Daniel after work and headed to La Nopalera for the best Mexican food ever!  La Nop is one of our favorite places to eat when we are home.  We thought the food at Loco fresh Mex in Gatlinburg was equal to La Nop but after having La Nop just a few days later we were wrong.  La Nop is still the best!  We did run into some friends at La Nop including the person who hired me at Toys R Us when we moved to Jacksonville 24 years ago.
I was hoping to get a chance to visit more friends but this was a short visit and we will catch them when I return in December.  Thanks Carrie for hanging out with us.  We sure did enjoy our time together even if we did not do much.  So it is time to say "so long" to the Jacksonville area.  We will we loading up our truck this morning and head back up to Tennessee.

Hello Jacksonville

We have returned to where we started our last journey, Jacksonville, FL.  We left Jacksonville last March to begin our Grandparents 2 Be journey and now we have returned to our home town where we have lived and raised our kids for over 20 years.  On our drive to Jacksonville we had some beautiful views.  Going through the mountains of North Carolina the changing of the leaves is absolutely gorgeous.  I tried to take pictures but the pictures did not show how beautiful the mountains were covered in oranges, yellows and red hues.  As we traveled south the warmer the weather got and when we got to Jacksonville it was 88 degrees.  It is suppose to be that warm while we are here.  We are staying at Fairfield Inn and Suites where Carrie got us a nice room at a family discount.  We spent the rest of the day with Carrie and Daniel then had dinner with friends.
Today we have to go to NAS Jacksonville to renew our Military IDs then head up to our storage unit to clean out what we do not want to take up to Tennessee.  We are hoping to see more friends later on today.  It is good to be back home and to be with Carrie and Daniel again! Hello Jacksonville!

A Few Surprises!

In yesterday's blog I had posted that I came home to a big surprise so before I tell you what the surprise is let me tell you that the October Project is complete.  Our storage shed is built and it turned out great.  Tim and George put it in place on Saturday so when I got home from the festivals the shed was in place and it looks great. As I was about to go inside the shed I saw my surprises.  Tim had gone out and purchased a new washer, dryer and freezer.  Tim and George went shopping at Lowes where they came across a great deal on close out items.  With new models were coming in so the old ones had to go and so for the price of what the washer would have been at full retail we were able to get the washer, dryer and freezer.  Thanks Tim, I was not expecting any of these for a while.
The shed was a big project for Tim and I and it took both of us to put it together.  The roof was tough and it took a lot longer than we thought but we got it done in the two days we had planned for it.  The shed looks great and it is big.  We built a 10ft x 14ft barn roof shed that will give us plenty of space for the washer, dryer, freezer, storage and more.
So, with shed complete we are headed down to the Jacksonville area to clear out our storage unit and bring it back to the farm.  We have used this storage unit since we sold our home over four years ago so it will be nice to have our things with us and not have to pay the monthly fee.  While we are in the Jacksonville area we will be with Carrie and hopefully see some friends too.  So with the shed complete and the surprised announced all I can say is "here we come Jacksonville".

Two More Fall Festivals!

Lisa and I went to two fall festivals yesterday.  We first drove to Del Rio, TN to go to Del Rio Days.  It was the 29th Annual Del Rio Days and also Cocke county's last fall fest for 2014.  Del Rio Days was held at the Jones Nature Center and featured live music, country crafts, food, fun and contests.  We did not spend too much time at Del Rio Days because we had seen most of the booths from the three other fall festivals we attended the last three weeks.  It was a good one we just got there early, there were no crowds yet, so we were able to see everything quicker.
After we left Del Rio Days we headed to Morristown, TN to attend Mountain Makins Festival.  It is the 39th annual fall festival in Morristown and was held at the Rose Center, an 1892 school that is now Morristown's cultural arts center and historical museum.  Mountain Makins is a week end for life festival celebrating the traditions of Appalachia through music, dance, fine arts, crafts, storytelling, demonstrations, children activities, food and more.  It was well attended and we payed an entrance fee to get in.  The demonstrations were interesting, the crafts were incredible and we got some Christmas shopping done!  Our neighbor, Cheryl, had a booth and does some incredible wood working. I bought a piece for someone for Christmas.  Hmm, I wonder who?
We had a great day and then Lisa and I came home, grabbed our laundry and headed to the launder mat  in Parrottsville.  We had put off the laundry long enough.  I know, what a way to end a fun filled day!  I did come home to a really nice surprise but you will have to wait and check back tomorrow to see what it was.  Thanks Lisa for a nice day together and thanks Tim and George for my surprise!

Gatlinburg, Tennessee

We took a short road trip yesterday to Gatlinburg, TN. It was Tim's Birthday so instead of working at the farm we all took the day off and headed to Gatlinburg. George and Lisa joined the Birthday boy and I for the day. They had been to Gatlinburg several times. This was the second time I have been to Gatlinburg (TLC Tour) but this was Tim's first time. Lisa and I wanted to go to Gatlinburg to visit the Craftman"s Fall Festival going on at Gatlinburg's Convention Center. It was full of artisans and their beautiful work. We did some shopping but I cannot show you what we got because most of the items are Christmas presents. We did get a couple of really cute decorations for our mail boxes but you will just have to wait and see them when it is time to put them up. Lisa bought Thanksgiving and Christmas so your wait won't be too long to see one of them. After we left the Convention Center we walked around Gatlinburg; it is definately a tourist destination and there is a lot of things to do. We were on a mission, to find a place to eat. Since it was Tim's Birthday he chose to eat at Loco Burro Fresh Mex Cantina. We wanted to sit out on the patio or roof top but it was too long of a wait so we ate at one of the high tops instead. The restaurant was cutely decorated and the chips and salsa were good. We ordered some queso dip and that was really good. The food was good but the service was a little slow and we were in there during a quiet time. After lunch we walked around Gatlinburg and did some shopping. Gatlinburg is a mountain resort city in Sevier County, TN. It's nickname is "Gateway to the Smokey Mountains" because it borders the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Gatlinburg is surrounded by high mountain ridges; Le Conte and Sugarland Mountains to the south, Cove Mountain to the west, Big Ridge to the northeast and Grapeyard Ridge to the east. U.S. Route 441 is the major road running through town and was once the route the Cherokee and early settlers would follow from North Carolina to Tennessee. Gatlinburg was first settled by William Ogle in early 1801 but when he returned home to South Carolina to bring his family back he died of malaria in 1803. His wife and grown children, along with her brother, came to settle in the area in 1806. Some of their ancestors still live in the area today. Gatlinburg was named for Radford Gatlin in 1856 when he established a post office in his general store. Most of the residents hated Gatlin but the name of the town was never changed. Today Gatlinburg is a popular tourist destination and yesterday was no exception. It was busy but that did not stop us from having a good time there. There is still a lot of Gatlinburg we have not seen yet so we will be returning soon; especially during the Christmas season. The town gets decorated with lights and they are everywhere! Tim had a great birthday and I am glad we did something special for him. Today Lisa and I are going to visit our fourth and fifth fall festival. For the past three week ends we have gone to a fall fest but this week end there are two. Depending on how good they are we will either see one today and one tomorrow or both today. Check back and see which way we went!