HAD A WONDERFUL TIME SCRAPBOOKING, BUT NOW BACK TO THE REAL WORLD.

I managed to get everything accomplished at the scrapbooking retreat that I wanted to.  I made a cute mini album for a baby boy that has yet to be born, and I loaded up my Project Life scrapbook with lots of pictures that I had taken during the year and never done anything with.  You know, those occasional photos you take that really turn out cute, but they're not part of an event that you would scrapbook in a few pages.  That's where Project Life comes in handy.  You can put the single photos you take of everyday life and put it in a page with some journaling on a little card right beside it.  My biggest problem was that I hadn't bothered to put dates on a lot of the pictures, so I had trouble getting them in chronological order.  That took 1/2 day in itself. 

The snow stayed on the ground for the whole time I was in Sevierville, and we never did get water in our bathroom but by the day I left, the weather had warmed up and no snow was in sight.  I took some neat pictures of it when it was freshly fallen, and they turned out so pretty!  But now I'm tired of winter, and I want spring to arrive.  Unfortunately snow is forecast again for tomorrow and a couple days next week.  I am not a winter person, and this year I didn't get to take my yearly winter trip to sunny Florida - too busy.  I guess that's why I'm so cranky.
Good news, though, I have a new work table for my craft room, and I hope to be making some videos again soon.  I have to get over the bronchitis that I caught during my retreat in Sevierville first.  Have a good week-end.

DON'T LICK THAT POLE!

Here's a funny story about Eli, one of the younger grandchildren:

It snowed here two nights ago, and there was a nice layer of snow on the ground, with some ice under it, so the school buses couldn't run - thus, no school.  Our daughter's two youngest kids (see previous photos from a couple of days ago) wanted to go outside and play in the snow.  So they got all their gear on, hats, gloves, boots, etc. and headed out to play.  Kim, their Mom, felt sure that they wouldn't last 15 minutes outside because it was only about 14 degrees or so, but they stayed out quite a while.  She began to get concerned, and decided to go out to look for them.  She walked around the neighborhood and found them not too far away.  Abby had taken her hat off, and Eli had no gloves on, and he was crying.  His tongue was stuck to a metal pole!!  So typical.  Abby probably talked him into licking the pole to see if his tongue would stick - and did it ever!  He couldn't get it off, and he was squalling.  When Kim finally pried him off the pole, it took some hide off his tongue. Some kids just have to learn valuable lessons the hard way.  Eli is one of them.

BEAUTIFUL SCENE IN THE SNOW AND DEER IN THE CEMETARY

On the day before Thanksgiving we had a pretty good snow, and there was much more up in the mountains, so after lunch, we and our daughter and her family drove up to the National Park and through Cade's Cove to see the beauty. There was quite a bit more snow there - and tourists. There was a "Bear Jam" right before we got to the Cove, with loads of cars and people with cameras. Where there are bears, there are always 1 or 2 rangers around to keep people away from them. You wouldn't believe how foolish some people are, thinking a black bear with cubs will let you get close enough to take a really good picture. NOT! Every year here, there are some bear incidents involving people who didn't keep their distance, and the ones who suffer are the bears. First they get transported to another area of the park, but if they keep coming back because people are feeding them, they end up having to be euthanized. Always a sad thing! Anyway, we drove back to a Primitive Baptist Church and walked through the cemetery. There were a number of deer grazing there, and I was able to get some film. Enjoy!

BE VERY CAREFUL THIS WINTER - AT LEAST IF THERE IS SNOW OR ICE ON THE GROUND!

This is just a reminder that winter is on the way. We don't get much snow here anymore due to global warming, but I know that a lot of you do. Beware of the snow and ice! This video says it all:

HOME AGAIN, SUNNY BUT STILL COLD.

We are home again.  Had a great time, and enjoyed the town of Franklin, NC, to it's fullest extent - antiques and all.  While the boys went snowboarding, we girls did our own thing.  It was cold, though, so we had to walk around town wearing heavy coats and gloves.  Here is a picture of my sister, Janet on the porch of the house where we stayed.

Snowed In!

We were totally snowed in today.  It actually snowed last night while we were at our church's Christmas cantata, and by the time we came out of church, the roads were covered.  It continued to snow on through the night, and we got about 2-1/2 inches.  Now you may think, what am I talking about, "snowed in"?  However, here in Tennessee, if 2 white flakes fall from the sky, they call off schools, everyone mobs the grocery stores and we all hole up.  Our roads are hilly, some are mountainous, and none of them go in a straight line, so travel gets very treacherous (did I spell that right?).  We also live on a 1/4 mile drive up a hill, so it's just safer to stay in, which we did.  I spent most of the day on the computer and doing laundry, but I also came up with a good idea for an instructional video tomorrow.  With Christmas approaching, we're all going to be taking a lot of pictures - right?  Well, I'm going to show you a really great way to get a lot of photos on your pages without making your pages look crowded, so tune in within the next day or so, and, hopefully, I can make the video and get it uploaded to You Tube.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

What a miserable day today has been!  It absolutely poured down rain all day!!  And now tonight they say it's supposed to turn to snow for a little while.  I sincerely doubt that, but we do live pretty close to the Great Smokey Mountains, and they often get lots of snow while we in the valley just get flurries.  My sister is up here visiting from West Palm Beach, Florida, so she's about to have apoplexy.  Ha!  Those Floridians have thinner blood, you know.  I went over to her house today (she has a vacation house up here), and we watched girlie flicks, baked cookies, and, in general, had good bonding time.  It was just one of those kind of days.  We have a tin roof on our house, and I lovee to hear the rain on it, especially when I'm inside all comfy and cozy. 

I was so excited to see that I have my very first Follower.  First Follower, thanks so much, and feel free to leave all the comments you want.  You all have seen the horrible pictures of my craft room, well, I want to announce that starting on Friday, my sister, Jan, and I are going to start the organizational process.  I dread it, but I know a lot of unused stuff is going to go.  I have to give up all those ex- hobby items that are sitting around on my shelves taking up valuable space, while my true hobby's treasured items lay about littering my floor.  I'll take pics as the process goes along.  Feel free to keep track of my progress.