It's going to be a long winter....

October has been a strange weather month. One day last week, I wore shorts and flip flops. Then the temp dropped to those fall like days and I put on jeans and tennis shoes. Early morning would require a light jacket, but later in the day short sleeves were very comfortable.



A couple of days ago, it rained so hard it sounded like it was beating the roof off. We had rain for the better part of 24 hours. Yesterdady was very windy and the chill would cut right through you. The temperatures had dropped so much on the rain day, that we got a good dusting of snow up on the mountains. This was taken around yesterday afternoon by The Village in Gatlinburg, TN.

And this was on Newfound Gap yesterday in Gatlinburg, TN.

So, to sum it up, we have already had spring, summer, fall and winter....just during October. I shudder to think what December and January will bring.

When to say goodbye....

I am a "stuff" collector. I have items that I have kept for 30 years since I first started housekeeping. These are items that have been unpacked, looked over, and packed back up for more years than I care to count.....simply because I thought I might use them or set them out for display sometime in the future.

Some of these things have sentimental value and others....don't. They are just dust collectors or in this case "closet consumers". They just stay in Rubbermaid containers in a box in the closet. Taking up precious room that could be used for craft materials.

So as I have been unpacking this week, I have been very methodical in deciding "Do I really need to keep this just to store it?" .... "What are the chances I will ever use it or display it again?" .... "Does it have any sentimental value whatsoever or am I just afraid to get rid of it?"

I have been surprised at how much I realize I can let go. I am surprised at the items that I "just had" to start collecting that I don't even care for now and have nowhere to put them.

I'm stock piling for a yard sale. I should be done today with all the unpacking and I have numerous boxes of goodies that will go fast at a yard sale. Friday, the temperature is climbing back up to 62, so I think I'll set out a few tables and sell a some things before I change my mind. A few of the items are things I just had to have and now I don't know why.

Somethings I look at and wonder why I ever bought it in the first place. For example, we have a cookbook for Fish & Shellfish recipes. We are not big fish eaters. On the rare occasion we want fish, it is just the frozen kind that is breaded. So why in the world did I ever buy a fish cookbook? See what I mean, I collect stuff that I don't have any need for whatsoever.

I couldn't resist these pillows from Donna Sharp at only $5.00 each, but now I changed out some furniture and no longer have the couch they graced so I don't have a need for them any more.

I loved this little shelf when I bought it, but I never was happy with how it went in the kitchen and never could quite figure out what to display on it to make it "work" so I've decided to just get rid of it.



I adored my birdhouse/flower bathroom at the old place, but I'm just not "feeling" it in the new bathroom. So I'm switching decor in there.

So you can see what I mean. I'm settling in the new place for the long haul and I don't see any need for some of the things I used before. Can't wait to finish unpacking today to see what gets to stay and what is destined for a thrifty bargain tomorrow.



Wednesday Hodge Podge

I'm linking to From This Side of the Pond for Hodge Podge Wednesday

1. How do you typically react in a sudden, extreme, pressure-filled crisis? Would we want you nearby in an emergency?

That depends on if you are family. I am one of those “calm, in control during a crisis” people….unless it is a close family member. One time my daughter slipped in the rain and fell down about 5 steps on her back. I was waiting on her to get in the car and I jumped out and ran to her. She was gasping for air and saying she couldn’t breathe. I freaked out and didn’t know what to do. My grandson, who was 7 at the time, told me to “Calm down. My Daddy who is a firefighter said to stay calm in an emergency.” He started talking to her to calm her down and fortunately her brother-in-law, who is also a fireman, just happened up the road and we flagged him down. She was just winded, but did break a couple of ribs. But I learned that day that I am NOT as calm in a crisis when its family.

2. Caramel apple-caramel sundae-caramel corn-caramel macchiato...of the four, which caramel treat would you choose?

Oh, is there any doubt. Any decision that involves ice cream is a no brainer for me. The caramel sundae it would be. I love ice cream. It is a breakfast food, a lunch food, a supper food and a dessert….ice cream can be any meal you want it to be.

3. Is there such a thing as destiny? Explain.

I’m not sure I would call it destiny. I believe God has a very clearly defined plan for our lives. If we follow His course and allow him to lead the way, then yes, I do believe in destiny. However, let me add that we are not perfect and we don’t always make the right decisions that God wants us to make. I think He places road blocks in our paths so we are forced to make a decision on which road to choose. But I’m pretty sure we don’t always choose the road he wants us to take. But when we do take the right path and things work out according to His plan, then I do believe that the end result was the destiny He had planned for our lives.

4. What's your favorite piece of furniture? I'm referring to something currently in your possession as opposed to something on your wish list.

That is a hard one. But if I have to choose just one piece, I would have to say my antique secretary. I love it. We had been on vacation and came home from Greenville, SC to Sevierville, TN up country roads the whole way, just looking for antique stores. We had taken the truck on the trip in case we saw something we liked. On one stretch of road, there was nothing but trees and more trees when tucked onto the side of the road was a little antique store. They had this beautiful secretary for just $25.00. I had always wanted one so we snatched it up in a heart beat. (this is not mine...it's not at the new place yet, but this what it looks like)

5. Wednesday night marks the start of the 2011 Baseball World Series. Did you know? Do you care? Will you be watching? Ever been to a professional baseball game? If you're not an American do you find the title 'World Series' annoying or amusing?

Let me sum of my answer to this one…..Is it STILL baseball season? Guess you can tell I don’t follow baseball. Now, when it is my grandson or my granddaughter who are playing, that’s a different story. I love going to their games and watching them play. But watching major league ball on TV is not my style. We have a minor league team in town and I used to go to one or two of those games a year, but it’s been a while since I’ve went.

 6. One sound that takes me back to my childhood is ____________.

 

Without a doubt, a train whistle does it for me. We grew up about ½ mile from the local C & O yard. Train tracks wound around through our little town. You could hear their long, lonesome whine as they came through the yards and the crossings in town. Every time I hear that sound, I go back in time.

7. On average, once you've linked your hodgepodge post to mine how many other participant blogs do you visit? Do you ever come back to the Hodgepodge later in the day or even the day after to read posts?

It varies depending on my schedule. As soon as I hook up, I try to visit at least 4 or 5. Then I will come back later that night or sometimes even a day or two later. I already follow some of the participants so I automatically get their posts in my Google reader. But I love reading what everybody’s answers are so I try to come back as often as possible to read as many as I can.

 8. Insert your own random thought here.

Just let me say, I am so tired of unpacking. I just want to wave a magic wand and have all the items in the new place put exactly where I want them to go. We are about to get it all completed. But 30 years of marriage should results in a lot of “stuff”. I kept a few empty boxes and decided now was a good time to put stuff aside for a giant yard sale. You know, all that stuff you get so tired of and you just want to replace it with something new. Well, I have unpacked about 2/3’s of my décor and knick knacks. So far, the empty boxes contain one shower curtain (doesn’t fit the new décor) and one set of shower curtain hooks. That’s it. I have found nothing else I feel I can part with yet. I’m guessing Thrift store donation instead of huge yard sale. Unless someone local is in need of a like-new shower curtain that has birdhouses, flowers and butterflies on it with hooks to match.

What exactly IS normal?

There is so much going on in my life right now. It's not enough that I just moved and now the unpacking fun has begun. I was sitting here this morning and thinking "I wish things would get back to normal." Which posed the question of what is normal. It just seems that my schedule is ever changing and my routine is getting messed up. There is so much going on in the next two weeks that I fear I may never see normal again.  

We have the Operation Christmas Child shoebox due in at church on Sunday. Then one day next week, I need to help go through all the boxes and double check everything and get them ready to take to the drop off center.

Then we have to prepare about 500 gift bags to handout for Trunk-or-Treat night at church. Then, of course, I will actually be going to Trunk-or-Treat night to help WMU hand out the bags (at least for a portion of it).

Then, of course, you have actual Halloween night where the neighborhood kids will be trick-or-treating. We used to live in a neighborhood that was off the beaten path. If we had 3 visitors that night, we thought it was a great night. Over the years, those 3 grew up and the neighborhood no longer had little kids around. Now, I live in an area that is very conducive to trick-or-treating so I'm expecting a lot more than 3.

The night after Halloween, I'm having my annual Pampered Chef party to help raise money for the Second Harvest Food Bank. This will be my third year. The first year, my party raised 1,000 pounds of food for the local food bank. I was thrilled. I can't remember how much we raised last year, but it was a good amount.

Two days after my party, I'm heading out to Parris Island to watch my nephew graduate as a United States Marine. We are so proud of him.

Then I'm hanging out afterwards in Beaufort, SC and checking out some of their local antique shops to see what kind of bargains I might find. The night I get home from there, the time will change and we will leave Daylight Savings Time and go back to normal time so that is going to throw my system off kilter for sure.

The next morning, I'm getting up early and gathering grandchildren to go to church with me and then after church, I'm taking them to Disney on Ice.

So, I ask you again.....What is normal? And when can I get back to it?



Did you miss me this morning?



Did you miss me this morning? What a day. What a weekend as a matter of fact.

We finally got moved and settled in. Oh, I still have all those wonderful knick-knacks and do-dads to unpack. I still have to decided the "theme" for each room and what is going to relocate to where.

But..........we are officially moved. Furniture layout is completed and we have actually had two cooked meals in the new kitchen.

I'll post pics later when I get all the goodies where they need to go.

I've got a lot of catching up to do in the morning on my blog reading so I'll visit you then.

Sunday morning silence.....



Sunday's to me are so special. The early morning when no one in the house is up yet and you get to sit and just enjoy the silence and tranquility that only a Sunday morning can bring. A day of rest, a little bit of peace in an overactive life.

I just put a pan of cinnamon rolls in the oven. I'm going to sit down and relax with a couple of hot cinnamon rolls and a glass of ice cold 100% whole milk. My reward for all the week well done. I'm getting ready to start the next book in the Nora Roberts Calhoun Series. What a pleasant way to start a Sunday.

Then it's off to church this morning with a side trip out to lunch with hubby after church and a stop at Lowe's and Walmart. It promises to be a great day.

Enjoy your Sunday today!

Christmas already...Seriously?



Have you noticed that Christmas decor gets earlier and earlier every year. I went to Walmart one day last week and went into the Lawn and Garden area to look for an indoor flower pot for an ivy plant. Low and behold, there was one tiny little section with a few pots. The rest of the entire lawn and garden (except for grills on sale) was filled with Christmas paraphernalia.

When you walk in to Walmart, they have a big add about Christmas layaway for toys and electronics starting on October 17th. Which, by the way, I am all for.

A few days ago, Black Friday posted their first Black Friday ad and received their annual cease and desist letter to NOT post the Walmart ad until Walmart releases it to them "officially."

Now, I am a huge fan of Christmas and I get very excited at this time of year. I start planning on Christmas crafts and Christmas gifts. I start thinking ahead, but I really, really would like to at least get through Halloween first. But on the flip side, I do like my Black Friday ad sneak peaks.

If you like Black Friday and like to get an advance notice of what's going to be happening, here are some things you may want to check out.

First, the BEST and most accurate site is www.BFads.net . It post the individual ads as a PDF you can view or a list by category per store. Many of the items on the list have a camera you can click to view the item. I also like this one because you can create a free account with your email address and ad items to your shopping list. Then all you have to do on Thanksgiving is print out the shopping list to know what to look for on Black Friday. They usually also have sneak peak items that you can purchase online at great prices.

I also did a "Like" on their Facebook page so I can get notices when they post new ads. Here is a link to their Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BFAds

If you have an Android phone, go to the market place and search for Black Friday. There is a free one called Black Friday App (by deal news apps). The ads are shadowed and when they show up in full color that means they are posted and you can click on them and view the ad.

Leave it to me to know the best places to find the Black Friday ads! Even though I still think it's a little early for Christmas.