Blue Paper Shorts and Witch's Noses

Now, that's an attention grabbing title, isn't it?   Hang on and you'll see where I'm going with this.

It turns out that what I thought was a wart on my nose was actually a Basal Cell Carcinoma.  Not dangerous, but something that had to be taken care of.    This particular one was located on the little piece of skin between my nostrils.  This complicated things a little, because the area is so small.  Needles for numbing the pain in that area are quite painful too....

Any how.... on Monday I had the growth removed and as recommended by the doctor, had a skin graft done over the little spot.  Here's where the witch's nose part comes in.  The sweet little nurse did such a good job of bandaging up my nose that it looks just like a witch's nose.  I couldn't have done a better job if I was trying to dress up for Halloween!  If you add the witch's nose to the bandage on the side of my face near my left ear where the doctor obtained the skin for the skin graft, I look really strange.

We stopped to pick up lunch and make a bathroom visit on the way home from the doctor's appointment.  As luck would have it, the restaurant was packed and finding the bathroom took me right through the crowd.  How embarrassing!

This, my friend, is very humbling.  Not to mention itchy and uncomfortable.  I have to wear it for a week.  I am planning to stay home until then.  I feel really silly staying home from work but its just too uncomfortable physically and humiliating, mentally.   Thank goodness its a slow work week, with Christmas and New Years winding down.

In situations like this its important to remember Proverbs 31:25   "She is clothed with strength  and dignity.....".  Because I didn't feel dignified at all on the outside, but God sees what's on the inside.

After the restaurant experience, we stopped at the drugstore to have antibiotic and pain killer prescriptions filled.  I definitely stayed in the car this time, but found myself watching the people coming in and out of the store.  I think maybe the Lord put some very strange looking people in my view that day because some of them were quite "different" looking.  I found myself sizing them up based on their appearance, when I knew absolutely nothing about any of these people!  I already know better than to do this, but it was a good reminder to remember that every single person you see has dignity and that God sees what's on the inside, not the outward appearance.  Even those with witch's nose bandages!!! 

This experience reminded me of a funny story about blue paper shorts.  When my hubby gets X-Rays in connection with his knee replacement surgery, he has to put on these blue paper shorts.  We get a laugh out of this, especially since they are "Carolina Blue" and we prefer "NC State Red".  But, I especially love the story I read in a book by Beth Moore, called "So Long Insecurity".   In the story she, too, was getting X-Rays in connection with her bad knees and had to wear the blue paper shorts.  BUT, she wore very high heels that day and had to walk around the halls and wait in a crowded waiting room in the very roomy blue paper shorts while wearing high heels.  LOL!

We have to laugh at ourselves and the situations we sometimes find ourselves in, don't we?  I placed way too much importance on what the people in the crowded restaurant thought of me.

I also have to remember how fortunate I am that my growth was not Melanoma and that I only have to be in this witch's nose predicament for a week. 

Coincidentally,  there are several kindle books by Beth Moore that are free right now.  I haven't read any of these particular ones, but I thoroughly enjoyed the one I referred to in this post.  If you are interested, here are the links:

When Godly People Do Ungodly Things

Believing God

The Beloved Disciple

To Live is Christ

I hope you have a wonderful 2014 with many blessings..... and don't forget to wear sunscreen....

Random Pictures

My sewing room is a mess right now. But a bright spot in there consists of these two Christmas Cacti. I think they are technically Thanksgiving Cacti, because this picture was taken a couple of weeks ago when they were in full bloom.
 

Still backin the Pack.

I hope your last weekend before Christmas is a productive and blessed one.

Catching Up

I haven't posted lately, so here are some pictures showing some of the things going on at our house.

I bought a couple of Fall items at Family Dollar. I really love this small wreath that is hanging on the glass door between the dining room and family room.



My grandson and I made a rocket ship and helmet from cardboard boxes, toilet paper rolls, etc. I'm pretty sure it will serve as a time machine too!



We made some S'Mores in the oven recently. I have a stockpile of chocolate chips bought really cheap, but I really don't need to be eating the calories! At any rate, a Graham cracker, a few miniature marshmallows, and a sprinkle of chocolate chips toasted in the oven is yummy. I figured up the calories and they are about 100 calories each. But, who could eat just one?



You may remember that last year I planted Morning Glories on the clothesline trellis. They didn't do too well, no matter how much I watered them. This year they came back and with no care did pretty good. Go figure.



Thankfully, we are not in a drought here. Almost every summer for the past few years we have been. Here's another afternoon shower.



*** Personal Notes

***Mama got out of the hospital and has been back at the nursing home for a couple of weeks now. Her appetite has been better thanks to a prescription that increases it. She is totally bed ridden and cannot roll over in the bed. The nurses use a Marisa Lift to transfer her to the wheel chair for dialysis and then at dialysis she is lifted into the chair there. It hurts her all over to be moved and rolled back and forth in the bed, but it can't be helped. Through it all, I still see some of Mama's old spirit. For example, she told her roommate, who rides a motorized wheel chair, to stay on the right side of the hall.

*** After seeing a picture of myself with my step-son at his college graduation on May 4th, I went on a healthy, reduction diet immediately. In fact, when we had lunch afterwards, I opted for the fruit cup instead of mac and cheese! LOL I was able to take off about 18 pounds. My check up in July was great. Blood pressure and labs were all normal. Now, I am struggling to keep the weight off. I am determined not to have to do this again though!

Life is funny. Mama needs medicine to make her eat and I sure could use some of her lack of appetite!

I hope you have a great Friday and weekend!

Monday......

Today's Smile and Giggle

This little picture makes me smile. It sits on the ledge over my kitchen sink. What can I say? I'm just a country girl at heart.


Today's giggle:

I went to the Orthotics office to pick up some shoes for my husband. This office is located in an old large house. It has the original wood floors and beautiful chandeliers. Over the fireplace in the waiting area was a sign that said "ONE SHOE CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE". Intrigued, I went closer to see who the quote was by and .... of course I should have known it was Cinderella! I had to giggle.

Monday Planning

Well, Monday is here and its pouring rain in North Carolina!

I worked on three sewing projects this weekend: 1. made the quilt label for Maddox's quilt (see previous post); 2. continued hand quilting the Grandma quilt; and 3. Made myself a Fall pocketbook. (picture to come)

It was a busy weekend with at least one near crisis. My mother fell while trying to get into a vehicle, but doesn't seem to have done any permanent damage. Her shoulder is extremely sore, so we are hoping that will work itself out in a few days.

I have made a discovery. Even though it has been said that its a "no no" to go to the grocery store hungry, being hungry while at the grocery store helps you to come up with ideas for menus, especially when one is in a slump when it comes to menu planning. I was really hungry while at the grocery store Saturday and came up with these meal ideas:

Baked Beans with ground beef, tortilla chips for dipping

Asian London Broil (broiled in the oven with Soy Sauce, garlic, etc.)
Small garden peas, baked potatoes

Lasagna, green beans, garlic toast

Honey baked chicken, left over veggies

Clam Chowder (finally having a week lower than the 90s!)

Hotdogs with the works

The down side of being hungry at the grocery store: A large container of candy corn came home with us!

So if you are struggling to come up with some meal ideas, go to the store hungry. I promise you will come up with some great meal ideas.

Since I am not a stay at home Mom/Housewife, lots of times homemaking ideas are hard for me to implement, since I must do them in the odd time I have in the morning, at night or on the weekend, which seriously cuts into my sewing time. But after reading THIS POST on the Like Mother, Like Daughter Blog, I think I can follow the advice to do at least three things before 10:00 A.M., each day. 1. Know what's for dinner; 2. start one load of laundry (if needed); and 3. Make the bed. I can do these things before leaving for work and most of the time do them already anyway. But, if these three things are done it takes off some of the pressure.

I also love the part about saving money at the grocery store without "store hopping" to catch all the deals at each store.

Yum! Coffee Sure is Good!

Its that time of year again for me to be running to this doctor and that doctor doing my annual check ups. You know... doctor's visit, lab work, Mammogram, and once you pass 50, there's more that we won't discuss here... :o)

Anyway, yesterday morning the labwork prevented me from having my coffee with hazelnut creamer. Boy, it sure is good this morning! Absence sure does make the heart grow fonder! I'm also happy to report that all the lab tests came back normal.

This coffee mug came from The Mast General Store in the mountain town of Valle Crucis, North Carolina. This is a very interesting place to visit. HERE is a link that tells the history. The one in Valle Crucis is the original store, but there are now several others scattered about the western part of the state.

Hope you are enjoying your coffee, or what ever your morning beverage of choice is, this morning.

Food For My Work Day

Good Tuesday Morning to you!

You would think that I would make myself a cute little lunch bag, but just never seem to get around to it. So, this is what my food bag for an average work day looks like. The sandwich box contains a turkey on whole wheat bread with light mayo. One half of the can of peaches is for an afternoon snack. The cheese grits are for a quick microwave breakfast that I eat at my desk while getting everything going for the day.

I took this bag of food to work yesterday. I guess its my age, but I forgot about the peaches and had a mid afternoon snack attack. I ended up eating a pack of nabs. If you live around here you will know that is a package of Lance brand square cheese crackers with peanut butter in them. It has to be Lance brand, although I'm sure the nickname "nabs" came from the brand name Nabisco. Sometimes they are called "square nabs", even though they don't come in any other shape.



Oh well, today I will try to stay away from the nabs!

Why Its Called a Pocketbook......

I had a question from a reader in England this week asking why I call a purse or handbag a pocketbook. Well, I've often wondered that myself! Its not a book and it doesn't go in your pocket.

I'm sorry, but it must be my Southern heritage, but I just can't seem to bring myself to call it a purse. I might be able to call it a handbag, but not a purse. I do have a "change purse" that goes inside the pocketbook.

So I googled it and here's why some of us call our handbag/purse a pocketbook:

..... "In 1617, the word first surfaced to denote a small book, now called a notebook; it was a book of addresses, or notes, that fitted in a pocket. By 1816, women were carrying a booklike case with compartments for papers and knickknacks, and they called it a purse, handbag or -- extending the old term -- pocketbook." I found this explanation HERE.

I also had a couple of requests for a pocketbook tutorial. My list of tutorials somehow got lost in my big blog remodel over the weekend. I hope to put the list back on soon. Meanwhile, if anyone wants to see the pocketbook tutorial, its listed under labels as "Pocketbook Tutorial".

While we are talking about word origins, I find it interesting that I also call the trunk of a car the "boot". My mother's family always called the trunk a boot and the glove compartment is called the pocket. This tells me that my family may have had English roots since that is what people from England call their trunk.

Some words just get passed down to each generation of a family!

I think that most of my readers would get a kick out of the way I talk if they ever heard me. I have a very deep Southern accent and use lots of "Southernisms" in my speech. Also, my area of the South has its own distinctive accent. I do try to use proper english when posting on this blog, but I'm sure sometimes its obvious that I'm a "GIRL RAISED IN THE SOUTH"!

My First Buick

I recently posted about the fact that buying a good, used, dependable car was a great financial decision that we made in 2008.

Well, I guess I've always been a Buick girl!

What I've been up to...

Baby Goat Update:



This is the only baby goat that survived without a Mama. The others just wouldn't eat well enough. But this one loves his bottle! I've never seen a baby who could drink 20 ounces of milk in about a minute flat! This picture shows him getting his morning bottle from me. When he sees me or my son coming with the bottle he starts hollering! Its sounds like he is saying, "Maaaaaaama, Maaaaaaaama, Maaaaaaama". He is also eating some goat food, but mostly the bottle.

2009 "To Do List" Update:


The fabric piles are growing! I'm still working on organizing all of the many bags and boxes of fabric and fabric scraps that I have accumulated. This has turned into a marathon of a job, but I'm determined to get it all done. At this rate I'll be working on this item on the To Do List another week at least.

The stacks of yardage are getting higher.





These totes hold large pieces of fabric, less than half a yard, but big enough not to be considered a scrap. Anything that is is big as a fat quarter makes it into this category. One holds darks and one holds lights.





This is a box of fabric I'm working on. Someone gave me a box full of curtain tie backs. Do you remember the big ruffled curtains from the eighties? Well these are from that era and were never used. They are perfect for cutting into strips of all widths. I washed and dried them last night and was just too tired to iron and sort them. This will be my project tonight after work.



Please click here, here and here to see examples of quilts that can be made from 2 1/2 inch strips! I bet you know who is dreaming of making these! But I've just got to finish some UFOs before I start another big project!


And I sold two clothespin bags from my Etsy Shop yesterday which has given me incentive to make some more soon. I love to make them, and I certainly have the fabric available! LOL

What I've been up to lately

My blog posting has been a little sparse lately so I thought I'd catch you up on what's going on in my life lately. My hubby and I returned from our annual Tennessee Mountains trip on Wednesday of last week and I've been very busy since then catching up at work and at home.

1. Last weekend I did no sewing whatsoever!!! While we were gone on our trip my daughter was surprised with the opportunity to have her piano moved from our house to her house and to have it tuned. It turns out that a good friend's father moves and tunes pianos for a living and was going to be in my area on Tuesday of last week. My son was home that day and could be here to let him in. It all worked out beautifully.

So now I have a spot in my sewing room for a cutting table. I am excited about this and am looking forward to hubby helping me to come up with a plan for this. I would love one that has storage underneath. We also plan to put shelves on the wall above the cutting table.

One thing I had to get done last Saturday was to clean up the sewing room because moving the piano left a mess. My son had moved the things on and under the piano out of the way and of course there was dirt on the floor where the piano had been, as well as the rest of the floor.

2. While I was in Sevierville, Tennessee I visited The Cherry Pit Quilt store. I love this store. I can't afford most of what is in there, but its so much fun to browse around and get ideas. I did purchase some Fat Quarters that I hope to use in the Cozy Cabins Quilt I posted about recently. I've decided to use pink/rose and browns as the main colors. I'm going to the fabric department at Walmart soon to purchase some more matching colors. I need some solids, checks, etc. I already have some solid black fabric to use for the center square of the blocks.

3. We've already had snow flurries twice!!! The winter is looking like it might be severe just like the Farmer's Almanac predicted. So I guess it doesn't make sense that I have waited until now to get in the mood to work in the yard. Last Saturday I spent about an hour and a half working in a flower bed in my front yard that has been neglected this whole summer. I had to wear a coat and gloves since it was very cold that day. I made a lot of progress and have already purchased purple pansies to plant this weekend when I get time. During the work week its dark when I get home, so I need to do this when I'm off work. I'll have a 4 day weekend this weekend so I hope to finish getting this flower bed in shape. I'll post before and after pictures later this weekend.

4. CVS and Walgreens. I've gotten some great deals this week. The problem I usually have is that by the time I get to the stores the good stuff is gone. This week I went to Walgreens before work on Monday and to CVS at lunch time on Monday and was able to find all of the items I planned to buy. At CVS I had $30.00 in extra bucks to spend. I only spent 80 cents our of pocket on the first order after coupons and extra bucks. This means I had about 35 dollars worth of merchandise for 80 cents! Then another $25.00 worth of extra bucks printed out and I used them toward my second transaction. I only spent 37 cents on that one and had to grab a candy bar to fill in enough to use the extra bucks. AND I still got $26.00 worth of more extra bucks that printed out after the second transaction. I hope to roll these over again this weekend because CVS is offering a BUNCH of free after extra bucks items Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Well, that's all I've got time for this morning!

Hello Hanna!

We've already got rain and blustery conditions and it looks like the eye of Tropical Storm Hanna (maybe hurricane strength by now) will pass through here tonight. Our winds are expected to be 40 to 50 mph. Shouldn't be too much of a problem, as long as we stay in and have no tornadoes! I'm sure the yard will be a mess tomorrow!

I stopped at the grocery store yesterday afternoon to pick up a couple of things and the place was packed! Most of the bread was gone. People really get excited around here when you mention the "h" word (hurricane) or the "s" word (snow).

My children and I slept on the floor of the living room in 1996 during Hurricane Fran. Now that was a storm to remember!

Hope Hurricane Ike doesn't come through here or affect anybody in the US, especially the gulf coast!

I've had a bad week!!!

On Tuesday the temperature here in North Carolina was 100 degrees, so I decided it was too hot to walk during lunch. I had just organized all my coupons and decided to go to the Food Lion to see if there were any deals I needed to take advantage of before the next week's sale started on Wednesday.

This is what happened!




And we just finished paying for it, new tires, a new battery and a new license plate the day before!

The other vehicle ran a stop sign at a very high rate of speed and there was nothing I could do to avoid it. I was very lucky and so glad no one was in the van with me! They would have most certainly been seriously injured. After many xrays and other tests, it was concluded that I had contusions to my feet and my sternum. Ouch! I love Percocet!


I hope to be back to blogging soon!

Weekend Update

We are having a quiet Sunday. The weather is cool and cloudy here after another week of above normal temperatures. Its so nice to be able to stay inside and relax. I've already had a power nap!

Yesterday was spent doing household chores and sewing. I finished a pocketbook I was working on all week and completed another one. We ate mugs of chili all afternoon while watching our team lose badly to our hated rival.

Today after church we had Crock Pot Roast, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potato fluff, garden peas and crescent rolls. This time I put a topping on the sweet potato dish of brown sugar and pecans as well as marshmallows. It was too sweet, but still good.

This is a picture of the amazing growth of my Paper Whites. My husband bought me this kit for Christmas and I planted them less than two weeks ago. Can they be planted outside after they bloom? I don't know.

I have been watching my E Bay listings with anticpation. I have 4 auctions that end tonight around 9:00. I have a 99 cent bid, a $3.50 bid and a $7.50 bid. These items also have several "watchers". One item has no bids or watchers, but I'm still holding out hope. I'm already coming up with my items to sell this week. I think I'll try to list items on Tuesday nights for 5 days which means the auctions end on Sunday night, as I was advised by more seasoned E-Bayers. When yard sale season starts up in full force I hope to find items to resell on EBay.

Ideas for items to sell this week are 2 stainless steel mixing bowls I've had since 1976 that came with an electric mixer. The mixer is long gone, but the bowls are good and I haven't used them in years and years. I checked E-Bay and they sell pretty good. Also I have a couple of more exercise DVDs and I think I'll try to sell a "grab bag" of 2 1/2 inch wide quilting fabric strips. I enjoy buying fabric scraps on E-Bay, so maybe someone would want some of mine.... Maybe.

Busy Days

I have been getting up even earlier than usual and getting so much done at home! Yesterday I was awake at 2:00 A.M. and finally just got on up at 3:00 A.M. I did the majority of my Christmas decorating before going to work. This morning I was up at 4:30. I made lasagna for tonight's supper, finished one load of laundry and completed another load. I also did a little bit more decorating.

I worked on a little surprise for my husband that falls under making your home a haven category. I have seen lots of posts lately about making your home a haven and also making it a place of peace for your husband and family. He might read this blog today so I won't go into details. (grin)

My son had another set of twin goats born yesterday so that makes 3 sets of twins in a few days time! They were cavorting about this morning when I took our dog out. They are so funny! How can something only about a foot tall play around like that?They are only a few days old.

Sunday I made a recipe for dinner rolls using my bread machine that turned out really good. I will be making this recipe lots of times, especially for Sunday dinners. I let the bread machine do its work and then placed the dough in the refrigerator while we were at church. When I got back from church I rolled it out, let it rise, etc. as the recipe says. Here is a link for the recipe: Annie's Dinner Rolls.

Our menu was an old standby: BBQ chicken, chicken and pastry, field peas, corn, sweet potato souffle, and the rolls. We love Carolina Treet BBQ sauce. If you don't live around here, you might not be able to find it. It is made in North Carolina and is so good. It has a unique flavor, not like the regular manufacturer's brands.

I wanted to post pictures of the baby goats and the finished baseball quilt, but will have to do that later!

Have a great day!

Weekend Happenings

Here in our little corner of the world, life is quite hectic! So much to do and time is so limited!

Yesterday I decided to finish the Baseball Quilt if that's all I got done. I just needed to get it done so I could concentrate on other things. I started on it at 6:30 A.M. and worked on it almost constantly until 9:00 P.M. I am so happy to be almost finished with it. This morning I have already machine quilted two places that needed some more attention and the quilt is spread out on my kitchen table. The only thing left is to remove the blue markings used for quilting lines! This will only take a few minutes and I'll work on that while cooking our Sunday dinner. I will post a picture of it when finished!

I learned this lesson: I will never commit to making a quilt for someone to give as a Christmas gift unless I start on it in the Summer time!

My son has goats and 3 of them are large with kid!!! (LOL) Well, yesterday he announced that one of them had twins and as soon as they weren't so "slimy" he'd show us. I was sewing on the quilt and I heard the loudest bleats you have ever heard and saw that he had brought one of them inside. It was so cute!!!!! I rubbed his/her head and she stopped making any noise. I guess even baby goats know a mother's touch!

I am already working on our Sunday dinner this morning before church. I'll be putting some things in the crockpot, etc.

Have a great 2nd Sunday of Advent. I would like to post some pictures later on of some of the goings on here!

Monday Update!

Its been such a busy weekend!

We attended a rehearsal dinner, wedding and reception for my nephew. Christmas time weddings are so beautiful and this one was no exception. The bridesmaid's dresses were apple red and the church was decorated with holly berries. The reception was held at a nice hotel nearby and there was dancing, so we got to cut the rug a little bit. We danced to "Carolina Girls" and "Brick House". I know you are shocked!!!

I did get the six inch borders for the baseball quilt cut and two of them sewed on. I'm going to work on the other two this morning.... if there's time!

My goal is to do special daily Bible readings from now until Christmas. Yesterday was the first day of Advent and I want to make this a special time of remembering the real meaning of Christmas. I also realize that I am always short of time for the things I must do and the things I want to do. I want to give the Lord some time first and then what's left, is well... left.

I checked out some new books from the library that, time allowing, I think I will enjoy! They are:

1. What Queen Esther Knew, Business Strategies From a Biblical Sage.
2. The Father of Love, Spiritual Insights from the characters and scenes of the Love Comes Softy Series, by Janette Oke.
3. Ready For Anything, 52 productivity principles for work & Life.
4. The 4-Hour Workweek.
5. Stories of the Heart and Home by Dr. James Dobson
6. The Decorated Bag, embellishing handbags, purses and totes
7. Creative Sewing Ideas (singer)

Yesterday I made some french bread (baguettes) and it was really good! I prepared the dough in the bread machine, took it out and let it rise two times and then baked it in the oven. My husband says he wants me to make a batch of this every weekend from now on!!!! We'll see about that.

LAUNDRY DETERGENT UPDATE: I posted about buying 10 containers of Purex laundry detergent at a great price with great coupons in October here. I opened the first one on October 20th. So far I have used 2 of the containers. I estimate that I do 8 loads of laundry a week. I'm still only using the least amount of detergent I can based on the laundry's dirtiness. I'm also still using 1/2 a fabric softener sheet per load. I haven't been hanging out clothes on the clothesline since the days are so short and the weather is cooler. I do need to hang a couple of loads a week on the clothes drying rack! So, the bottom line is I'm right on schedule with making the great laundry detergent stock up last 9 months.

Well, I'm off to get ready for work and maybe sew on a border.... probably not!

Road Trip to the Smokeys

We had a wonderful time on our annual Smokey Mountain anniversary road trip! I wanted to share some of the highlights with you.

The trip began early Thursday morning with packing. Yes, I waited until the morning we were leaving to do this. My nature is to do things as simply as possible. I only wanted to take necessary items and I didn't want to spend all week worrying about it. We wake up EVERY morning EXTREMELY early anyway so I just got up at my usual time, packed and we got on the road.

The first stop was to take Dave, our sheltie, to the doggie vacation spot. Its a very nice place out in the country run by people we know. Each little doggie has his own indoor sleeping area with a doggie door that goes outside to his own little fenced in yard. He was way overdue for a thorough grooming and he was scheduled to have that done while there. Normally when we go somewhere over night, my son takes care of Dave, but this time he was out of town as well.

After taking care of a couple of other errands, we were on our way! We left the area we live in by 9:00 A.M. I have always enjoyed going on road trips with my husband and one of the best parts is the trip itself.

This year we really enjoyed the scenery because as best I can tell the fall foliage was late this year in North Carolina. We have been going to the mountains this same weekend for several years and I've never seen such brilliant colors. Usually by this time of year the leaves in the mountains are gone, but even in the mountains there was still a lot of color. The most beautiful colors were in the Piedmont area. I tried to take pictures, but the pictures just don't show the beauty!

This is a picture of some of the foliage as we were traveling down I-40.



Then the most exciting thing happened!!! It started snowing!!! I absolutely love snow, although I'm not fond at all of driving in it! This snow was not sticking to the ground, but was coming down really hard. Driving beside tractor trailers on I-40 going up or down the mountain near Asheville is kind of scary, but throw some snow into the mix and it really gets scary!!! The snow lasted about an hour and was even coming down on the guys mowing grass on the side of the highway. Here is a picture of the snow, but again the picture just doesn't show it all that well.



We spent Thursday night in Newport, Tennessee and on Friday we traveled the rest of the way to the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge/Sevierville, Tennessee area. We couldn't check into our hotel until 3:00 so we headed over to the Gatlinburg area and made the rounds on the Craftsmans Road. All kinds of craftsmen and women have shops on Glade Road, a country road in the mountains. We love to browse in many of the shops and each year discover a new one or an old one we didn't know existed. I have to be honest in saying that we don't buy too much in these stores because the prices are pretty high, but always come away inspired.

We returned to the Glade Lebanon Baptist Church thrift shop which is located on this road and found a few more treasures that will be in a future post. I got out the phone book in our hotel room and looked up all the thrift shops in the area and we visited quite a few. We went to the Goodwill Store, Salvation Army Store, a hospital thrift store, as well as the Lebanon Baptist Church thrift store. Would you believe we also went to a yard sale right in the edge of Pigeon Forge? There were 2 other thrift shops that looked great, but we just didn't have time to get there. They are on my list for next year however! These were my favorite shopping experiences on the trip!

We visited two amazing quilt shops! I was in awe at all the beautiful fabric and quilts on display. One of the quilt shops is "The Cherry Pit" located in downtown Sevierville, Tennessee, right across from the Courthouse. Its a big store, packed with fabric and ideas and they teach quilt lessons there.

One highlight of our trip each year is to eat lunch at "The Wild Plum Tea Room" which is located on the Glade Craftsman Road. Its a unique restaurant with interesting food. The lady who originally opened it started out using her own china there. Like most of the stores and restaurants in the area, she set up shop in an old rustic building. Here are pictures of The Wild Plum Tearoom.





We were also able to spend some time with my brother in law and sister in law who attend a square dancing convention, "The Turkey Strut", the same weekend as our anniversary each year. We stayed in the same hotel and shared a couple of meals together.

I got a kick out of the fact that our hotel is located right across the street from some beautiful hills with a fenced in pasture for cows. I felt right at home!!!

Amazon Explained

I received the last volume of the Tightwad Gazette series (Tightwad Gazette II) that I was missing yesterday! I'm very happy with it because it is a hardback copy in perfect condition. Its much nicer than the 2 other volumes that I purchased in paperback in the early 1990s.

Another great thing is the price. It was only one cent! Amazon sets the shipping rate for books at $3.99 so that's a given when ordering any book. The seller makes a couple of dollars on the shipping and that's how they can sell books for a penny.

So I ended up actually paying $4.00 for the book.

Here's my complete set!




I considered purchasing the Tightwad Gazette book which contains all 3 volumes, as well as some additional tightwaddery information, but they weren't that cheap. Since I only needed one it was better for me to just buy it. If you wanted to buy all 3, you would end up spending $12.00 if purchased individually. So in my opinion, you'd be better off to buy the 3 in 1 volume. However, you could compare the prices and do the math to make that decision if you are in the market for these books.

I am a big believer in using my county library system instead of buying books, but there are some that I like to have on hand for reference that I go back to again and again. The Tightwad Gazettes have saved me mucho denaros over the years!

I had been wanting to buy a book recommended on some homesteading blogs called, "The Encyclopedia of Country Living". The library branch located near me didn't have this book, but a branch located in a nearby town did. So my branch obtained it for me and called me when it was in.

My plan was to read the book and see if I thought it was a book I needed to own. I had checked on Amazon for the book and it was expensive. After reading the book I decided I didn't need to own it. Its a very good book, but I don't think I'd go back to it over and over. If we were living off the land like my family did when I was growing up, this book would be absolutely necessary! But at this point in my life I don't plan on raising chickens for food, etc, but some day you never know...... with the way the food system in this country is going, I might.

I hope you've noticed the Amazon Widget located on my left side bar. If my understanding is correct, this is how it works. If you go to the Amazon website through the link on this blog and buy anything, I would get a small credit for it. You don't have to buy the books I recommend. So, if you are planning to buy something from Amazon, I'd appreciate your letting my blog refer you to their site.

I have had good luck with the things I've ordered from Amazon. I've bought several books for a penny, plus the $3.99 shipping and have been very happy with the books.

One of my favorite books purchased from Amazon was a copy of "Disciplines of the Beautiful Woman". The copy I bought has a beautiful blue suede hard cover and is in perfect condition. Its a great reference book.

The bottom line is though, if you can get a book from the library for free, I'd go that route to make sure I needed to own a book first. That's the frugal thing to do!

You may have noticed that the "Google Ad Sense Ads" that I had a while back are gone. I noticed some ads that I wasn't comfortable with on the blog and wondered if there were ads showing up when I wasn't looking that I wouldn't approve of too. So I just got rid of it. I don't want to offend anyone!