Hello 2016!

If spending the night with goats, sheep and alpacas at the end of the year is any indication of how the new year will go, then I'll be living in a barn.

The fireworks started when it got dark. The people down the road do this twice a year. New year's eve and July 4th. The goats were literally terrified, running around like they didn't know what was happening. The sheep and alpacas ran to the back yard. I had to go out there and give them hay to keep their minds off all the noise. Poor babies. I hate fireworks. Really hate them. People just don't realize how terrified animals get. This is when dogs and cats get so scared, they run. And keep running. And then get lost. Terrified and now lost. If I wasn't outside with my goats, they would have bolted through the electric fence and kept running. But I was with them, hugging them and talking to them. They were all fine and went back to the barn when it was all over. Then it happens again in 7 months.

Our 2 grand daughters have been here since last Thursday. We have done nothing but go, go , go. We have shopped and shopped some more. We go to my mom's this afternoon for turnip greens, Hoppin' John black eyed peas and rice, ham and corn bread. Yum! Can hardly wait.

I'll take the girls to get their hair cut Saturday. I am getting mine cut too. Time for a change.

So since March 7th, 2015, I have lost 47 pounds. Then I just stopped a few months ago. I was holding at 202 for awhile. Then a friend called and said she found Lay's Biscuits and Gravy potato chips at Walmart! OMG! That was when my sister was here for the holiday markets and I was too busy to go. She went to Walmart and I asked her to check on the chips. They had a whole bunch of them. So she got me 6 bags. Yes. 6 bags of biscuits and gravy chips! They are so good y'all. And I ate all 6 bags. I am over them right now.

So my goal in 2016 is to get down to 160 pounds. By my birthday June 5th. I can do this.

I also want to concentrate on my fiber studio. My ex SIL's girlfriend is a graphic designer. She's going to help me get a website for my studio up and running. And I want to open it as a little shop too. So I have a lot of work to do here. Lots of wool to spin!

I had to order a charger for my camera, since I can't find it. Anywhere. I swear, stuff just disappears around here as soon as I put it down. But if I find it, I'll put it by a plug in so I won't lose it again.

I hope the comments work, since I haven't gotten any in awhile. I've had lots of people looking, but no comments. So I just wonder if people are not able to comment or just don't have anything to say.  Just wondering.

So happy 2016 to you all! I hope and pray this year will be wonderful for everyone. And do something nice for someone as much as you can ok?

End of December...

 Hello. Thought I better update this blog. I hope everyone had an awesome, amazing Christmas.

This is my table, set for Christmas dinner with my family. I love these dishes. They are very old. Homer Laughlin. Some of them were here in the house when we bought it. I've had them on the shelf in the dining room all these years. Never have used them. A few weeks ago, I was in the mood to clean! And throw stuff away. And give stuff away. My sister and her oldest daughter were here and they came over and took about 10 boxes of stuff just from the dining room alone!! Oh, it feels good to get things out of the house and clean.

So I took what was left off all the shelves and cleaned everything. All the pottery, dishes and cookbooks. (Which my niece took one whole shelf of cookbooks!) And fell in love with these dishes all over. But I only had 4 plates and saucers and only 3 cups. My mom and I were out last week and saw a thrift store next to the grocery store and decided to go in. And I found 5 of these plates and saucers! For only $2.00! Of course I had to have them. So I have 9 plates and 8 big saucers. I still need cups and bowls and little saucers. I will keep looking.

         And my little wooden Christmas tree my husband made me last year. It was just perfect for us.

                                       Some greenery and red berries and candles. Just right.

                   You can see here how my shelves look now. There's 1 whole shelf empty! So nice.

                           I also cleaned out the 2 cabinets. The one on the left has nothing in it!

And here is my flooded property. The water was gushing from the back yard, around the side of the house and out to the pastures. Just a flooded muddy mess. Everywhere we looked, water. You can see the pond to the left of the coop and to the right.

                    This is the garden, under water. Ponds and rivers and lakes all over this valley.

This morning, while I was cooking breakfast, my husband walked in. He asked what I was cooking. Ham, he asked? Really???

And these chickens. They like to come stand (and poop) on the front steps. The only real dry spot on this farm. And it gets sun here. See the 2 headless roosters? They need to be headless and in the pot! Darn roosters. All they do is stand under the windows and crow. All day! Ugh!

So we had a good Christmas here. I really didn't get in the Christmas spirit til we left my mom's Christmas eve and went to look at lights. We drove up Missionary Ridge and went across the interstate to the other side. Never have I done that before, and I've lived here 37 years. It's beautiful up there! The houses are gorgeous and really old. We got to the end of that road, where Greenwood comes up and over and down the other side. And got stopped at the stop sign by a Christmas parade. There must have been a hundred police cars and fire trucks, all with their sirens going. Busses full of people wearing Santa hats. A huge long limo, with Santa in the back seat, all lit up. It turned out to be a fund raiser parade for St. Jude's Children"s hospital. So fun!  On Christmas Eve. It was so warm too.

Then we when downtown to see the EPB building. Every year they do all the windows with scenes for Christmas. It's so pretty, all lit up.

It was then that I wanted to go get a real tree and decorate my house. But it'll have to wait til next year.

Our 2 oldest grand daughters are here with us. We have done some shopping. I am not a shopper. Especially when it's raining. And yesterday was horrible. In and out of the rain all day. No fun at all. Today is beautiful. Blue sky and lots of sun shine. But tomorrow, it starts again. I think we have enough rain, thank you!

Can I slow down now?

 I have been so busy these past few months. Getting ready for holiday markets. All the preparation and making and loading and unloading. Setting up and taking down. Loading back up, then unloading again. It is a lot of work, these little markets. But so fun and I really enjoy them. I love meeting new people and finding kindred spirits. I love talking to "goat" and "sheep" people. Making new friends.

But I am tired! And Christmas is next week!!! OMG! Really?

So I am going to slow down and take it easy for once. I am going to walk slowly. Eat slowly. Enjoy this time I have right now. Look at the sun rises and sun sets. Like yesterday morning. I had to get up early to get to Mrs. T's for the day. Walked outside to feed the masses and saw this. I had to stop and just look. Then I ran in to grab my camera and start snapping all these amazing pictures of God's awesome art work. Just amazing and beautiful and awesome. And it was like this all the way around where ever I looked too. I really want to be able to see the little things in life. Not be so rushed and hurried like I usually am these days. Be more like a turtle, not a rabbit.

                                               This was just a few minutes later. Just beautiful.

 



                                                        And still a few minutes later.