Happy December

Winter scenes from my walks with Scruffy. Winter can be beautiful too!!!

It was a dark and stormy night!!! Well it was!!!

It was actually Saturday night. I was in bed working on this post, messaging a friend I hadn’t heard from in a while and reading my book for book club. Ha!! you know I can’t do one thing at a time. It was storming like crazy outside. The wind was blowing and I was wondering how long we would have power. I know I have mentioned, a few times, that we live in the woods. All it takes is a big gust of wind and a tree goes over the power lines and we are without power for a good two to three hours. Luckily that didn’t’ happen.

Anyway how are you? Did you have a nice Thanksgiving? We had only six people at our house for Thanksgiving but being the southern woman that I am I promptly cooked enough people for an army. I cooked a turkey, I got a fresh one this year not frozen, and it was delish, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, cornbread dressing, coleslaw, cranberries, rolls, two pies, pumpkin and pecan, and chess bars. Luckily I made the pies and chess bars ahead of time. I also made my cornbread for the dressing and then made the dressing on Wednesday night so it was ready to pop into the oven as soon as I got the turkey out on Thanksgiving day. My brother in law’s wife was out of town so I sent him home with enough food for several days.

We had such a nice time we ate and talked and laughed. Me, my sister in law and Scruffy took a long walk after dinner. Man I was so tired!!! I had been up since 4:00 AM getting the house ready and the turkey ready etc. etc. I knew I had to get to bed early for the “Black Friday Shopping Day” with my sister the next day. Yes I am that person.

I love Black Friday Shopping. Me and my sister have been doing this for about 10 years or so. We don’t go for the bargains, we don’t get all of the sales circulars, we don’t even know what the door busters are. We go because this is our kick-off to Christmas!!!! We have a ball. We go out at about 5:00 AM. I will tell you that the retailers have almost ruined Black Friday shopping by starting it at 1:00 PM on Thanksgiving Day. WHAT???? Well that’s my opinion anyway. It used to be that we would start out around 4:00 or 5:00 AM and the stores were packed with people who started around midnight. But no, now the stores open on Thanksgiving Day earlier and earlier. A lot of the stores close at midnight now and many of them don’t open back up until 7:00 AM!!!! Oh Well it won’t stop us from our Black Friday tradition. I did get a lot of Christmas gifts this year and we had a lot of fun and great sister time. My feet hurt so bad on Thanksgiving night, after all the cooking and cleaning, I couldn’t have gone Black Friday shopping if they were GIVING stuff away. No we will stick to Friday morning.

On Saturday my little mother in law turned 86. We had already had a small party at the Assisted Living Village where she lives but I didn’t want the day to go by without something special. My husband and his brother both had to work so I went to see her and took her some Birthday gifts and we went and got ice cream. We also went to see a friend of hers who is in another nursing facility close by. We had a great time.

I am taking a few days off from work. I’m trying to kill some vacation days before the end of the year. I have been pretty lazy the last few days. I am reading a wonderful book for book club, I put up some Christmas decorations, and started knitting another pair of socks. Oh and tomorrow Mark and I are going to the Biltmore Estate in Ashevilles NC. I have been there several times and I love it especially at Christmas. More about that soon.

What have you been up to lately? Are you getting ready for Christmas?

Always remember,

Love your day your way!!!

A Valuable Thanksgiving Lesson

Hello friends, I hope you have had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!! Something happened this week and has made me realize how wonderful my life is and just how much I appreciate everything and everyone in my life. I wanted to share with you.

Stock Photo

My mother in law lives in an Assisted Living facility. She has been there for a little over a year. There are probably about thirty people who live there. These are people who may need a little assistance and can’t totally live on their own. The people there are of various ages from 62 to over 100 years old.

The “Village” as we call it is beautiful. Each room is like a small apartment with a bathroom and sitting area and a small kitchen area. So each resident can eat in their room or go to a dining room where everyone is served.

Several times a month I go and have lunch with my mother in law. Each resident has their own table that they share with three other people. Some of the tables are full and some are not. Addie, ( not her real name) sits at my mother in law’s table. She is 95 years old. She is really unbelievable. Other than not being able to walk and needing a wheelchair to get around she is in really good health. Her memory is amazing and she keeps up with all current events. She doesn’t wear her hair like a lot of the other ladies. Her hair is cut in a short bob and it is a beautiful solid white color. She wears two plastic tortoise shell combs to hold her bangs back. Although her voice is soft and whispery she loves to talk and talk. She always asks me about my job and if I have been busy. She is very inquisitive. Her manners are impeccable. My mother in law told me that some of the other residents don’t like to talk to Addie because they can’t understand what she is saying. She said she stays by herself in her room a lot.

A few days ago I was eating lunch with my mother in law and Addie and we were talking about Thanksgiving. I ask Addie if she was going somewhere to be with her family for Thanksgiving. I know she has a son who lives in Georgia and another somewhere an hour or so away. She said ” well I have been invited to Georgia but it is a long drive and someone will have to come and get me and take me there and then bring me back here. She looked sort of wistful for a moment and said” You know I am good right here. I am in a nice safe place. I have food and people around me. I have everything I need right here so it is o.k. if I just stay here. She seemed content with that.

Once when Addie and I were talking she told me about her life. She lost her mother when she was fourteen years old. That left Addie, her dad, her four year old brother and an older brother. Addie’s dad had to work to make a living for his family. He hired two young girls to take care of the four year old brother so that Addie and her older brother could return to school. Her dad believed education was everything. The two girls that were hired to take care of Addie’s little brother were very mean to him and physically abused him. When Addie and her dad found out what was going on they stopped the girls from coming and Addie said she would quit school and stay home with her brother. Her dad was upset that Addie would not be attending school and he made Addie promise that as soon as her brother started school she would also return to school.

Addie at the age of fourteen cooked and cleaned and took care of all of her family. Her life was not easy for a fourteen year old but she felt like she was doing what she needed to do. When Addie’s brother started to school she returned to school as well. Addie continued with her education and became a nurse. She married a man who was a preacher and they had several children and lived in several different states throughout their married life.

When Addie told me that she was content and happy with where she was it really made me think. Here is a woman who has been through so much in her life. She is happy with what she has. I know that her family rarely visits, and she desperately misses her husband who recently passed away, BUT. She is content and happy and makes the most of every day. She wears the sweetest smile and is always positive. I just love her and she is definitely someone we can all learn a lesson from. Why can’t we all be a little more like Addie, thankful for what we have in our lives.

I thought about Addie all week. It made me realize I am happy and thankful for everything I have in my life. Thank you Addie.

Happy Thanksgiving friends I hope you have had a wonderful day!!

Always remember:

Love your day your way!!

A Day In My Life

Happy Saturday Friends how has your week been? It is raining like crazy here. It’s not too cold though. You know I read a lot of blogs and I don’t often feel like I know the people I am reading about. So I thought I would share what a day in my life looks like. Anyway, if you are interested continue reading and if not see you at the next post.

Look at this fog it’s almost noon and so dark and dreary. I love it its so cozy.

I am a very early riser. I like to be up by 5:00 or 5:30 every morning even on my days off from work, especially on my days off. On those days I feel like my free day is waiting for me to get started!!! Some days my husband has left for work by the time I get up. He has about an hour commute so he leaves pretty early.

I got into this early bird habit when I first got my Basset Hound Patches back in 2005. (Patches is who my blog was named after. ) She woke me up every morning at 4:50 AM to go outside and potty. It was dark and cold and I would stumble out of bed half asleep to take her out. By the time I got her back in and gave her a treat and got back upstairs I was pretty much awake. My husband says I am awake the minute my eyes are open. I am ready to talk and get into the day so I guess I am a morning person. He is not!!! He has to have coffee and ease into the morning slowly.

Baby Patches she was about six weeks old here.

So after a few times of getting up with patches before 5:00 AM I just started staying up and realized how much I enjoyed being up early. I would love to say I get a ton of work done before going into my work job but that is not always the case. I just love being up, reading, watching some TV, having coffee and doing whatever I want. I used to work out several mornings a week and that is something I desperately need to get back into doing.

Even after Patches got older and then passed away I was still in this habit of getting up before 5:00 AM. I don’t even set my alarm clock I just wake up. This could also have something to do with getting older. I have heard you don’t need as much sleep and I find that to be true. Sometimes my niece Michelle calls me at 5:30 AM she says I am the only other person she know who will be up. HA!!!

First thing I do When I get up is let Scruffy outside for a minute, feed Kitty Kitty and let my big girl Molly out of the house. We keep Molly in the house at night because she is older and we have coyotes around our property.

I have coffee and a quick breakfast and am at work by 8:30. My drive to work is about 20 minutes. It takes me about 45 minutes to get ready for work. It may take a little less time on the days I don’t wash my hair. I try not to wash my hair every day. Thin hair runs in my family and I want to take care of what I have. I use a dry shampoo on the days I don’t wash my hair in the shower. I just started using dry shampoo a couple of years ago and I freaking love it!!! Currently I am using Batiste dry shampoo it is available at Walmart or Target or any of those stores. I have had great luck with it although I am curious about some of the other brands. If you have one that you love let me know. I would like to say I am one of those people who pick their clothes out the night before but I am not. I only decide what I am going to wear in the morning before I go out. I may be thinking about it when I am getting ready but I don’t usually decide until I get ready to leave. A lot of it depends on how I feel and what I have going on that day. You may be the same way. If I am feeling in a funk then I want to be comfy and not add any extra wardrobe challenges. Actually as I have gotten older comfort means a lot to me on a challenging day.

On my way to work I always listen to two songs. Well I listen to other things too, I love to listen to audio books and podcasts, but I always make sure I listen to these two songs they get me motivated: We are the Champions, by Queen and Proud Mary by Tina Turner. Man by the time I get to work I am singing at the top of my lungs. I try to curb the singing before I walk into the building my co workers may not appreciate it. I can’t sing a lick. It doesn’t stop me though. HA!!!

The different seasons make a difference on what my job entails. Like for instance in the winter my job, being at a tourist attraction, is not very busy with visitors. However it is a time that I prepare for the upcoming year. I am busy with ads and promotions and sometimes travel shows getting us ready for the coming year. If it is summer then I am busy with about 1000 visitors a day and four times the staff members that I have to deal with in the winter.

I love winter for this very reason. My job has a much slower pace during the winter and usually after the craziness of the summer I am ready for it. It’s funny though because by spring and summer I am usually ready for some excitement and being crazy busy again.

The first thing I do every morning after getting settled in at work is go over my to-do list. I find that if I don’t keep a running list I am so easily distracted. I keep this list on my phone so I can always refer to it. I keep it in my notes on my iPhone I remove each item as I complete it. At the end of the day whatever I have left gets carried over to the next day. So periodically through the day I will look over my list to see where I am on whatever project I need to be working on. If the list gets too long I refuse to add anything to it until I take some or all of the items off of it.

I usually eat lunch at work except on Wednesday when I go to lunch with my sisters and whomever shows up. You can read about our Sister Lunch here if you haven’t already. Sometimes I have woking lunches with people and I leave the for those. I hate to say it but most days I eat at my desk. I know this is not a good habit to have but it just works out like that most days. During the summer we have a restaurant open on the grounds and I often go there just so I won’t be at my desk eating. I know I need a break for a few minutes.

After work I either go home or go to visit my mother in law in the Assisted Living Village where she lives. Several days a week my husband works until 7:00 PM and he eats a late lunch so we do not eat dinner together. On those days I usually get home as early as possible to let the fur babies out of the house and feed all of them. I take Scruffy for a walk every afternoon and Molly always goes with us. Scruffy is the type of dog, I guess it’s the terrier in him, but he needs a good walk every day. I grab a quick dinner and settle in. If I don’t have book club or visit with my mother in law or have something after work to do I just do things around the house. My mother always taught me that if you do a little everyday even if it is one load of laundry or unload the dishwasher, although she never had a dishwasher in her life, then you will stay caught up on your chores. This is something I have always tried to do. It doesn’t always work out but when it does it works great!!! Some of the things that I look forward to doing after I get home are: baking, knitting, reading, writing, playing the piano, I just got some Queen piano music from the movie Bohemian Rhapsody and I can’t wait to work on it. Probably sounds pretty boring but I love it!!! I will let you in on a little secret. I am working on a children’t book that I hope to have out soon. More on that later.

After my husband gets home we catch up on the day and maybe watch a little TV. Our interest in TV watching is very different. We are Sci-fi nerds so we do like those shows together but mostly I watch TV in my den I have upstairs.

When you get up at 5:00 AM bedtime comes pretty early. I am usually ready for bed by 9:00 or 10:00 PM.

Some things I have been lacking and need to work harder on is: My daily devotional reading, exercising, and always just living in the moment. Well there is always tomorrow.

Always Remember:

Love your day your way

A Day Trip to Dahlonega Georgia

A few weeks ago I went with my friend Lorie for a day trip to Dahlonega Georgia for Gold Rush Days. I hadn’t been in a couple of years so I was really excited to go. Gold Rush Days are always held the third weekend in October. It is a time that thousands of people come into the area to see the fall colors peaking and celebrate Dahlonega’s 1828 discovery of Gold. There are over 300 art and craft exhibitors and food vendors gathered around the Public Square and Historic District.

We took off early on Sunday morning around 7:00 AM. Dahlonega is about a two and a half hour drive from where we are. I was waiting at the door with my bag and coffee. A day trip and girl time with Lorie what more could I ask for?

The drive to Dahlonega is beautiful. We went through several small towns and down by the Ocoee River.

Before getting into Dahlonega we made a stop at the Amicalola Falls State Park. I had never been so I was really eager to check it out. Lorie used to live in Dahlonega and she knows all of the best places to see. She was a great tour guide.

The falls were running slow because of the lack of rain we had had in the area at the time. See that bridge at the top? We drove up there the next pics are from the top of the bridge.

We drove to the top of the falls. There is a small bridge over the falls and just look at this view.

This is where the Appalachian Trail starts. I thought it was kind of understated. If I were starting my journey of the Appalachian Trail I would want family and balloons and quite a send off. Oh well maybe when people start their trek they do have all of those things.

The lodge at Amicalola Falls State Park is beautiful with some beautiful views. I think this would be a great place to stay for a few days. You can hike, zip line and lots of other things there. I think it would be a perfect place for a getaway. Sister Trip maybe? I really can’t see the sisters Zip lining. HA HA.

Zip liners getting ready to zip.

Just look at this crowd. We got into Dahlonega just before noon and met up with a couple of Lorie’s sisters. There was a small fee to park. We heard that the crowd on Saturday was down because of the rain. Sunday turned out to a great day for the festival.

These ceramic leaves are actually made from real leaves. They were gorgeous. This was the first booth we came to. I meant to go back and get one before we left but I didn’t make it back to that booth. Next time for sure.

This was a very interesting hands on craft. This trough is full of an oily liquid, I can’t remember what all it had in it but I will find out for you, you drop blobs of paint into the liquid and use a wooden stick to make the paint into any design that you want. When you have the design and colors you like a plain silk scarf is put on top of the design. A flat piece of wood is used to flatten the pattern onto the scarf. You pick the scarf up and the pattern has attached to the silk. It takes a little bit to dry but it makes a very unique scarf. There are no two alike. You actually had to sign up for this. I didn’t do it. It was a little costly and I had spent most of my budget on a couple of other booths and an antique shop on the town square.

Lots of great ideas for Christmas If you are really ahead of your Christmas shopping. That is not me.

Uhhhh yeah that’s me trying to get moonshine out of this cool looking moonshine still. There were some for sale. I did not buy one of them.

Lorie and I had a nice drive back home and stopped at a couple of places to check out the scenery. What a fun day, but this girl was tired.

I got home in time to take Scruffy out for a small walk and as we walked down by the lake I noticed how much the leaves had finally changed. I got this shot of the reflection of the trees on the lake.

I did have to sneak this last picture in. This is an urn I bought at the antique store on the town square in Dahlonega. It is quite large and you may think ugly. For some reason I really liked this big piece. I kept walking back to it and picking it up, it was quite heavy, and putting it down. When I do this I usually have to buy it or have regrets. So I bought it. I put it on my entryway table in front of this mirror. I love it.

Until next time. Alway remember
Love your day your way!!