Getting Ready For A Craft Show

I mentioned a couple of days ago about Jenny doing her first Craft Show selling her Salted jewelry line and so I have been busy making some items to sell along with her jewelry.  I created several gift tags so that if someone buys some jewelry and Jenny gift wraps it then they will have an option to buy a gift tag to place on the gift.  I also make a few other things to compliment Jenny's creations. 
It was a perfect day to work in the Crafty Cottage because it was a rainy gloomy day.  The only good thing is that is stayed fairly warm for a late November day.  It was in the low 60s all day long.  I got a lot done so that tomorrow I just have to pick up and pack a few things to bring with me especially if my items sell well.  Getting excited to see my kids and, of course, my little princess Rory.

The Decorations Are Done!

The Christmas decorations are all up, the tree is decorated and even the outdoor lights are done.  This has been the fastest I have ever put up the Christmas decorations.  Now I don't have a lot of choices where I can put things so everything pretty much goes where it was last year.  Even though I had to scale down my decorations when we moved out of our house I still have quite a few things. What took the most time to decorate were the trees and yes I have two.  When we were shopping for a Christmas tree the first Christmas that we were in the RV we were just going to get a small 3 foot tree until we walked into the Navy Exchange at NAS Jacksonville and saw two trees that were pre-lit and suppose be outdoor entry trees.  Well, they were the perfect size and I could have one on each side of the entertainment center.  They were perfect and between both trees I can get all of my ornaments hung.  I think it takes so long to do the trees because every ornament has a memory attached to it and it allows me to take a stroll down memory lane with each ornament before placing it on the tree.  While I finished up the inside for decorating Tim put up the outdoor lights and hung a few decorations.   I even decorated the Crafty Cottage.  Now that the decorations are up I can enjoy the Christmas season.  I love Christmas!

Let The Decorating Begin!

Tim and I ventured out on Black Friday and headed north to Virginia to do some shopping.  We ended up in Bristol, VA and hit every store in the strip mall.  It started with Target and ended with Pet Smart and the best part is that the stores were pretty quiet.  So, my Christmas shopping has begun.  I have a long way to go but at least it is started!
When we got back home we got all of the Christmas decorations out of the basement of the RV and started decorating.  By midnight the trees were decorated, yes I said trees, and almost everything is done except the table and a few odds and ends.  I love Christmas and so I like to get the decorations up so I can enjoy them during the whole Christmas season.  Also because I leave on Tuesday for Florida to spend a week with my kids and friends.  Now we just have to get some outside lights up and we are good to go.  It was a good day.

Now It's Time For The Real Black Friday

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Thank you George and Lisa for a wonderful dinner.  Thank you Travis and Kaitlyn for joining us and a special thank you to Larry and Linda for sharing Thanksgiving with us too.  Lisa worked hard with all the cooking and it paid off; everything was delicious.  The crock pot mashed potatoes turned out great and they were delicious.  If you ever need to make a lot of mashed potatoes and not want to do all the work just before serving them then try the crock pot mash potatoes.  I will share the recipe in a later blog but if you need it now just leave a comment below and I will give you the recipe.
It was a beautiful day so we all enjoyed out Thanksgiving dinner on the sun deck.  The sun was shining brightly  but it was a little windy.  Thankfully it did not get too cold until we finished our meal.  I ate too much but it was worth it because everything was so good.  It was a great Thanksgiving and I am thankful for my friends and family!
Now that Thanksgiving is over it is time to participate in the Real Black Friday.  You know the one that actually happens on Friday and not Thanksgiving.  Tim and I are heading out to do a little Christmas shopping today.  We figure instead of going to Knoxville or Asheville we would head north to the Tri cities or maybe even Virginia.  I am anxious to start decorating for Christmas too since it is another tradition in our family to put the Christmas tree up on Black Friday.  Hopefully we can do it all so check back tomorrow and see what we end up doing!  Happy Black Friday; the beginning of Christmas shopping!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you all have a wonderful day.  This year we are celebrating here at the farm.   George and Lisa's kids, Travis and Kaitlyn and their pets Nix and Cato, will be joining us along with Larry and Linda Vanderwilt for Thanksgiving dinner.  Lisa has spent a good part of yesterday cooking away already.  I will be making my pumpkin pies that I have made every year for the past 30 years.  I got my recipe from my boss when I worked at the golf course in Glenview.  It is a great recipe and a crowd pleaser.  I am also going to be making the mashed potatoes but this year I am trying something new and making them in the crock pot.  I will let you know how they turned out.
As usual, I will be watching the Macy's Day parade, a long time tradition, and having cinnamon rolls for breakfast; another long time tradition.  I know my girls will be doing the same thing.  Maybe next year we will all be together for Thanksgiving.  I have so many things that I am thankful for and one is for all of you that have been following my blog.  Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!

A Day In Gatlinburg

We took a chance and went to Gatlinburg to visit the Thanksgiving Arts and Crafts Festival at the Convention Center.  Lisa and George had attended the festival years ago and had always raved about it.  I guess in the past few years the festival has changed.  It was a much smaller festival than we thought it would be. We were in and out of there in 30 minutes.  There were a lot of nice things but all were very expensive.   So what do you do when you thought you would be spending a good part of your day at a festival and you don't?  You go to lunch and then visit Old Smokey Distillery.  We went to Five Guys for lunch and then headed over to Old Smokey.  We were surprised and happy that Gatlinburg was not as busy as we thought.  However, that will change today.  I am happy that we do not have any traveling to do in the next couple of days.  It was a nice day with cool temperatures but lots of sun.  Thanks George and Lisa for going to Gatlinburg with us; it was fun.

We Can See Snow!

We woke up to some snowy peaks in the North Carolina mountains.  It's a view that we can see really well during the late fall, all winter and early spring.  Basically once the leaves are gone our view of these mountains is really good.  Yesterday, with sun shining bright, we got a great view of the snow on the peaks.  I still am not sure exactly what the mountains we look at east of us are called but they sure did look pretty with the snow on top.  I am also very happy the snow is there and not here.  Yesterday was a little warmer and with the sun out all day it sure made it feel warmer too.  I know this is just the beginning of "almost winter" for us and I know it is time to just accept the fact that winter is coming.  At least the next few days are suppose to get in the 60's again.  We may even be able to eat Thanksgiving dinner on the sun deck.  I guess we will have to wait and see if the weather predictions are correct.  Today we are headed to Gatlinburg for a Thanksgiving Arts and Crafts Festival so check back tomorrow and see what we did.