Christmas Day

This year we broke tradition. Instead of going out for Chinese food, we stayed in and shared our home while others brought food, drink and a good time. We, as in most of the people that were here today also had a chance to chat with Chris and Laura which was just another added niceness to the day. We were hopeful to have a fire for s'mores but the rain kept that away. We played some games later that evening and by 10 pm we were asleep on the couch. It was a long day, but definitely one of the higher ranking good days.

Next year.........................can you say szechwan mali beef?

Winter Wonderland in NC

We headed up to Blowing Rock on Saturday in the jeep, of course. We had a wonderful lunch @ Six Pence Pub, then over to Kilwins for fudge then a short ride on the parkway and headed back home. The landscape was awesome!!

Snooowing :o)

got off work early on Friday because of this

just ain't right

not our cat but thought this was worth it

A first for the Hills

After spending a life time together, on Saturday we had a first. Together we attended a gun show in Winston Salem. TJ looooves weapons, I could care less, at least at that point, but since TJ did lots of projects this weekend I said okay to the show and he had a blast. Do you know what kinda people attend gun shows? People, be afraid, be very afraid. After seeing the type of people that are out there purchasing and selling weapons. Asking about how to obtain a concealed weapon licence, I asked TJ to teach me how to shoot, that's all I gotta say.

nice

Now this is the way to spend a Sunday afternoon, feeding the donkey's with good friends.

Holiday in the swamp

This year for Thanksgiving we decided to head out to my favorite camping place, Pettigrew State Park. Yup, gonnna spend the week in the swap in hopes to see bear. We got there on Saturday and it either rained, drizzled or misted the entire time we were there. Plus the mosquitoes were crazy, the @$#* bugs kept gettin' in the camper and feeding on us while we slept. This was not one of our better trips but we did met some great folks in Columbia NC, saw tons of deer, lots of bear pooh, no bear, just pooh, great horned owls, snow geese, tundra swans and bunches of different water birds. We also headed to the outter banks and yes, the jeep went out on the beach, not far, but it did go on the beach.

taken w/camera thru the binoculars, these are the tundra swans

The welcomed and not so welcomed

It was nice to see Gregory over the past few days and good for the neighborhood. Neighbor Betty put it something like Gregory's spirit arrives before his physical body does. If you know Betty this makes soooo much sense and if you don't I'm not sure how to explain it to you. But the time we had was nice and refreshing. They worked on the yard a bit and hung 2 doors.

<~~~the welcomed

<~~~the not so welcomed, found this nest of yelllow jackest along side the tree that was trimmed up the night before

blah weekend

The weather was incredible this past weekend, perfect for hiking, biking or just getting out into it. Pulled upper back muscle so Saturday was spent on muscle relaxers and back massager, NOT how I planned the day. By evening it felt much better so headed over to neighbors house to hang for a bit. Yes I'm in pj's but it was just the women and TJ. Sunday also did not go as planned so I gave up and watched a movie on the computer.

No, it's not a shrunken head that Leslie is holding.

Crazy Cat (a.k.a. Momma Kitty) and Gracie discussing the meaning of life through the door at Betty's place.

Once again Oliver the cone head

Poor cat!! He's got a spot on the inside of his leg that is bald and he keeps licking it. It's not sore like scab type sore, just skin colored pink and bald. I figured a soft cone would be much more comfortable than the hard plastic thing so I cut up a towel and threw this together for him to keep him from licking it so see if this helps. So far so good he hates it. Poor cat.

he lives to see another day

I had him most of the day, checking on him every 30 minutes or so and since he seemed to be doing fine I dropped him off at the vet down the road to tend to him then off to wildlife rescue to recover and release. It wasn't that easy letting this one go, but then I have 3 cats in the house and I didn't want him to end up as a snack.

natural born killer

Don't get me wrong, I love CrazyCat aka Mama Kitty but sometimes I wish she didn't act like a cat. You know, the killing and tormenting of critters that are just trying to survive. She gets all the food she needs so she doesn't need to hunt for food. There are tons of camel crickets out there to play with, not to mention all the leaves that blow across the yard to chase.

This morning when I went to take out stuff to recycle there she was with this poor little chipmunk under her paw on the deck. Well of course I took it from her!!! I figured it was about dead so I was gonna take it to the woods across the street but then I noticed it was breathing steady and only one visable surface wound to it's belly so I thought what the heck, let's see what happens. After a few hours it has perked up and for the day it will rest in the tub with paper tubes and paper towels to hide in along with peanuts and water of course.

ahhhhhh

I love this time of year

the colors poppin'

the leaves a crunchin' the air is crisper

and the jeep? TJ's working on the front putting in a Dana 44 which means blah blah blah to me but it makes him happy, that's what matters. Plus he's getting it ready for our week trip to Pettigrew next month.

I am not ashamed, are you?

FIND IT INTERESTING THAT A HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL CAN SEE THE PROBLEM, BUT OUR SOCIETY CANNOT. IF I OFFEND ANYONE BY THIS, I REALLY DON'T APOLOGIZE !


This is a statement that was read over the PA system at the football game at Roane County High School , Kingston , Tennessee, by school Principal, Jody McLeod

"It has always been the custom at Roane County High School football games, to say a prayer and play the National Anthem, to honor God and Country."

Due to a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, I am told that saying a Prayer is a violation of Federal Case Law. As I understand the law at this time, I can use this public facility to approve of sexual perversion and call it "an alternate life style," and if someone is offended, that's OK.

I can use it to condone sexual promiscuity, by dispensing condoms and calling it, "safe sex.." If someone is offended, that's OK.

I can even use this public facility to present the merits of killing an unborn baby as a "viable means of birth control." If someone is offended, no problem...

I can designate a school day as "Earth Day" and involve students in activities to worship religiously and praise the goddess "Mother Earth" and call it "ecology.."

I can use literature, videos and presentations in the classroom that depicts people with strong, traditional Christian convictions as "simple minded" and "ignorant" and call it "enlightenment.."

However, if anyone uses this facility to honor GOD and to ask HIM to Bless this event with safety and good sportsmanship, then Federal Case Law is violated..

This appears to be inconsistent at best, and at worst, diabolical.
Apparently, we are to be tolerant of everything and anyone, except GOD and HIS Commandments.

Nevertheless , as a school principal, I frequently ask staff and students to abide by rules with which they do not necessarily agree. For me to do otherwise would be inconsistent at best, and at worst, hypocritical... I suffer from that affliction enough unintentionally.. I certainly do not need to add an intentional transgression.

For this reason, I shall "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's," and refrain from praying at this time.

"However, if you feel inspired to honor, praise and thank GOD and ask HIM, in the name of JESUS, to Bless this event, please feel free to do so . As far as I know, that's not against the law----yet."

One by one, the people in the stands bowed their heads, held hands with one another and began to pray.

They prayed in the stands.. They prayed in the team huddles. They prayed at the concession stand and they prayed in the Announcer's Box!

The only place they didn't pray was in the Supreme Court of the United States of America- the Seat of "Justice" in the "one nation, under GOD."

Somehow, Kingston , Tennessee Remembered what so many have forgotten. We are given the Freedom OF Religion, not the Freedom FROM Religion. Praise GOD that HIS remnant remains!

JESUS said, "If you are ashamed of ME before men, then I will be ashamed of you before MY FATHER.."

Copy and paste this to your e-mails.

which one?

Falls Lake S.P. North Carolina

This was our first time @ this park. Since the park system has gone to reservations I figured I better reserve something in case they didn't have any first-come-first-serve sites, but since I didn't know the layout of the park I choose one with an open site for the sun to warm us this time of year. It was open alright for the sun, which didn't show, and a place for the wind to howl through. It was a chilly weekend but still close to perfect. We hiked through the difference loops and picked out the perfect sites so we'll be ready next time. This will most likely be a return-to-camp place.

<~~~~happiness

<~~~~@ peace

<~~~~on the trails

a day with Brenda

Brenda was on vacation this week so on my furlough day we spent the day going to Ikea, Trader Joes and a bookstore. It was nice hanging out with her and just spending a day being goofy, and venting about our jobs........that's what friends are for. After spending about 4 hours in Ikea, a short time in the bookstore and Trader Joes I was ready for a nap or at least head to bed early tonite. Then I remembered TJ had softball tonite. His team hasn't won a game this year so this will be a quick elimination from the tournament this weekend. Not quite, they won the second game which means they play Friday nite, we'll see what becomes of this tournament thing.

let the adventure begin!!

WARNING: do not eat the chicken tenders & french fries from in store cafe, they turn to rock once in stomach

I couldn't resist the high powered blower

<~~~~my dropdead sexy man in his clown pants

Changing colors, and I don't mean the leaves

I was hoping for a bit more yellow and maybe some green. We'll see if that shows up later. Tonite are 2 more games, I really hope he's the athletic support instead of the athlete this week.

thankful and a bit sad

Did you ever have one of those moments in your life when you're not quite sure how to feel?After clearing out weeds and grass by the road over the weekend I headed to the back deck and then heard this noise, like when someone is hauling a trailer with equipment on it and it goes over a bump in the road and makes that rattle, metal scarping sound. Turns out someone went offroading where I was clearing the growth and took out our mail box. At first I was so thankful that I wasn't there, but then a bit sad cause I missed my ride home. Nothing deep or really thought provoking in this, just something that made me go, hhhhmmmmm.

Reaction

They say that for every action there is a re-action, this was proven to me Friday.

As TJ was getting ready to head out to the softball field for his Friday night games I decided to stay home since it had been a loooong work week & I was not feeling social in any way I said to him

"don't hurt yourself".

Never again.

He says it doesn't really hurt much and he's able to move it around in all directions. We'll see just how colorful this becomes.

??????

Before we left for our trip we figured we should have something to read while on the plane.

Can you get this anywhere else but in the south?

Vacation

My sisters with me celebrating Mom's 90th B-Day

My sister Lynn with husband Dave at one of the many nature centers in the area

out at Lake Winnebago watching the sun set

a boy and his cow at the county fair

view from the tower @ High Cliff State Park

Another quiet weekend

TJ played softball on Friday night, 2 games back to back which left him a little sore over the weekend. Being the loving, compassionate, sympathetic wife that I am we spent Saturday out walking around trying to find some softball shorts for him. I figured the walking around would help loosen the poor ol' leg muscles that were, as he put it, "on fire" after he ran to the first base.

No luck on the shorts but we did get a nice walk in around Dick's and the mall. We also checked out the farmers market looking for the best kettle corn in NC. We want to take some with us when to head up to WI for vacation. On Sunday after church and lunch we headed over to the airport in W-S, TJ wanted to see the B-17. You could take a 25-30 min ride for only $430.00 per person, that's right, only $430.00. We didn't take a ride. After that we stopped in on Mark and Brenda to say "hey" and just to check in with them. Brenda's under a very heavy work load so we don't get to hang out with them much. Prayer for her during this time would be appreciated.

<---eating store bought kettle corn from WF, good but not like the other stuff at the farmers market.

<--da plane, da plane

Quiet Weekend

We had a pretty quiet weekend since the weather was a bit to warm to go and play (85). So TJ worked on jeep parts and I did domestic things, clean house, make pancake mix and took a nap. Yup, that's about the extent of our weekend, days of nothingness made for a good time.





The yard is coming along nicely and we hope to have grass back by next spring. There is still new bamboo shoots coming up on the pit side, but we expected this since it's pretty tough stuff & puts a hard fight to the death.......but I think we'll win.

visitors in the night

There are times when I wish we had a full, plush, green yard to run barefoot in. But then things like this happen and I glad it's a natural area for wildlife to come and visit. This is not zoomed in, I could have reached out and gotten my arm chewed off. But I chose not to.

creepy factor & just because

While walking the edge snipping off bamboo shoots I saw this spider and it took awhile before I realized it has babies on it's back. It was very interesting watching the babies dart around the ground then come back and catch a ride. I watched for awhile then it just started to give me the hebegebes since I HATE spiders.

I have yet to see any lizards this year but I know they're around. I'm guessing it's the blue tailed skink.

Uncle Sams got your back.................

They changed the verbiage on the site on Aug 3rd and said it was a poorly-worded privacy statement. Yeah right. I've lost the video when added the comment but if you are interested here's the video......http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWs12ccbOiE

Cat Chow, not just for cats

Makes him happy

TJ has come across many great finds in his job, a gas grill, a sterling silver tray from Germany, landscape lights, air compressor, bedding sets in new condition, skill saws, table saws and now this. It amazes me what people throw away.