Weather

SNOW! Yes, it's pretty.  But when we moved here we were told...."if you get snow you won't be able to go anywhere but just wait until the next day and it will melt and be gone".  Perfect.  I get to enjoy the beauty of it and really not be concerned with it.  Well that lasted a few years, but not this year!  We've had more snow in one week than we usually get in an entire winter.  The poor kids lost a whole week of school before Christmas break and then another whole week after.  I know, I know it doesn't look like much, and it really isn't.  The problem is that the roads here have a few problems.  There are so many extremely steep grades along with the roads are sloped incorrectly, no shoulders, no guard rails and drop offs that are 100 to 150' down.  Match that with the fact that our county will only use gravel, no salt and that many of the roads don't get a lot of sun and you have us being stuck inside for a LONG time!  Now I do have to give credit, the mail lady made it here all but one day.   The UPS man on the other hand...grrrrrrr.  I had my embroidery machine and serger coming and it was on his truck all week, not arriving until Thursday.  Oh well, this too shall pass and in a few weeks when it starts to climb into the 50's again, we will have our coffee on the front porch and we will forget it ever bothered us this much. 

Illinois Family

 This is Fred's nephew Tim and his wife Cathi.  After we retired down here in Tennessee it was fun to learn that Tim and Cathi actually spent their honeymoon down here in the Pigeon Forge, Gatlinburg area.  They love it down here and have bought a lot just a stone's throw across the lake from us (but about 30 minutes by car) to build on when they retire.  I wish they'd hurry up as we really miss them.  They are so much fun to be with.  Tim and Fred just harp (lovingly of course) on each other all day.  And Cathi is just a wonderful person and a good friend.  The guys can go fishin' and Cathi and I will go antiquing!  Shhhhhh don't tell Tim.     The picture below is of Fred, Tim and Tim's son.  Do you see any resemblance?  Hint....it's the hair, or lack of......

Wisconsin Family

This is my brother Bob and his wife, my very best friend in the whole entire world (other than Fred) JJ.  My brother passed away on December 14th quite unexpectedly.  It's just so unbelievable to imagine going up to Tomahawk to visit and not see my brother sitting in  his recliner watching Nascar and listening to his scanner.  We always teased my brother that we thought JJ was my sister and he was the "in-law" as JJ and I are so close and share so many of the same interests.  JJ is an exceptional seamstress and an avid Girl Scout leader.  JJ and I both love scrapbooking but we hardly ever get anything done unless we are scrappin' together.  Then you should see the pages we put out. 

Ruby and OC

This is Ruby our Boxer and OC our domestic long hair cat.  Both are rescues.  Ruby came to us several years ago as a companion both for us and our other Boxer, Amos.  Amos has sinced passed away.  Ruby is maybe 5 or 6 years old.  She looks and acts mean but really isn't.  She's a pushover.  Although she plays really well with Peanut she is scared to death of OC the cat.  She will take a wide berth when walking in the same vicinity as OC.   OC, which we assumed was for "Orange Cat" is best friends with Peanut.  They will sit and groom each other for a long time, curl up and sleep together or run around the house like crazy first Peanut chasing OC, then OC will turn and chase Peanut.  Faith calls OC a "she" because she says that OC is too pretty to be a boy.  I have to agree, don't you?

Tom

 This is my son Tom.  He lives in Knoxville with the love of his life, his Siberian Husky Ally that he rescued.  Tom loves bass fishing, shooting, paintball, watersports, snowboarding, mountain bike riding, motocross and most extreme sports.  He is currently working on training Ally.  He and his buddies at the shop are building a sled for her to pull and in February he and Ally are enrolled in a class to teach  him to teach her to pull the sled.  He was at Mary's house on Christmas and they hooked her up to the kids sled.  She could pull with ease and enjoyed it but as he has been training her not to pull on the leash she would stop pullling.  So they have to learn how to overcome that. 

Mary's Blog

It was too funny.  I sent Mary an email asking her to check out my blog and she called laughing because she just started one two days ago!  Check her blog out at dressageonthequarter.blogspot.com.  This is a picture of Mary and Chuck.  We are so tickled to have Chuck as a member of our family.  Not only does he treat the kids great and puts up with all of Mary's interests, he is simply just a great guy!  You can also check out Mary's website at tnhorsetrainer.com. 

Dwight, ALL BOY

Yes, Dwight is all boy.  He loves cars, trucks, trains,, building stuff, tearing stuff down, crashing trucks, cars and trains, fishing, shooting and baseball.  He was the Player of the Year (2010) for his Little League team.  He is proud of the fact that his coach would use him as an example to the other team members on how to do things.  He is also into Karate and has earned his second belt and is 2/3 of the way onto his third.  Yes, he is all boy but he can sure give his grandma great hugs and kisses.

Faith Riding

This is Faith this past summer (2010) practicing her riding.  She has become a very accomplished rider, competing in shows and winning over riders much older than she is..  She likes to ride Hunter/English and does very well in those classes (as her roomful of awards will testify) but she also loves putting that western saddle on and turning some barrels.  As a matter of fact, she won Champion Barrel Racer of the Year in 2010, winning a beautiful breast plate and matching bridle.  She has her own pony and her trainer is none other than her mother, my daughter Mary.  Mary runs a training program you can visit on tnhorsetrainer.com. 

And this is me

Here I am....this picture was taken while waiting to board a dinner cruise up on the Willow in northern Wisconsin.  I am amazed that people still recognize me up there.  We were up there in December and people came up to me knowing who I was while I struggled to come up with who they were!  Quite embarassing.

Peanut

This is our little Peanut.  Fred and  I were out on photo safari one day and passed this place that sells poodles.  We'd passed there many times but never stopped.  For some reason we pulled in there.  As soon as we were inside I told Fred "this is a puppy mill".  Apparently he didn't hear me.  So we got back to the nursery section and there sat Peanut with his little brown nose and patch over his eye.  I didn't care for him but Fred had love at first site.  He had to have that puppy.  At first we thought he was dumb as a rock but in reality he was just a lot younger than the breeder told us.  He is extremely intelligent and loves to play, be hugged, cuddle.  He is just one great dog.

Faith and Dwight

These two are also the loves of my life.  This is Faith and Dwight, my grandbabies.  Dwight just turned 6 in December and Faith will be 8 the end of this month.  These two are so special to Fred and I.  They are smart, loving, caring and so much fun!  Dwight loves boy things, cars, trucks, (especially if they are smashing), shooting, building.  Faith loves all things girly, makeup, music, friends, clothes and horses.  They both are very talented.  Well I don't want to start sounding like every other Grandma but we know just how special these two are!

The Love of My Life

This is Fred....the sweetest, nicest, most loving man I have ever know.  He truly is the love of my life.  He brings me up when I am down.  He laughs along with me and holds me tight when I cry.  He tells me all my recipes taste great, until I give him "the look" and they he tells me the truth.   We are starting to think a lot alike, many times finding out we are thinking the same thing at the same time.  That just tickles Fred.  He loves my kids and grandkids as if they were his own.  And they love him back so very much.  I am so blessed to have him in my life.

Introduction

You know I used to be the person people would ask about new technology.  Heck when I got my first "real" job they were using mainframe computers so I ran out and bought a Commodore 128, the top of the line home computer at the time.  I got it with a 1 gig hard drive even though the salesman said I should go for the 4.  I thought how would I ever use up even the 1.
But in the last few years technology has really gotten away from me.  So I find myself here, trying out setting up a blog.  Why?  I don't know.  I doubt anyone would ever visit it or be interested.  I just thought it was time for me to try something new.  Yea I know....blogging is not new.  But it is for me.
So here I am, sitting in lovely eastern Tennessee, stuck in the house because a whole 1 1/2" of snow fell and they've never heard of salt here.  And rather than work on my quilt, or try a new recipe I am writing on this blog....to no one but myself. 
To be continued.....