View From the Front Porch........

FAQ......

Yes .... the header and the above picture is "REALLY" the view from my front porch!!

RANT OF THE DAY.......

Yesterdays announcement from the governor's office that all state employees and teachers pay will be cut by .05%....starting immediately thru the end of the fiscal year.......

This is in a effort to balance the state budge......

OK.......they can have .05% of my next to nothing......

My rant is that elected state employees are exempt.......! but, are being asked to voluntarily cut their pay .05%...........

How many of these "elected officials"..... do you think are going to help out balancing the budget??!!

And ....what happens July 1....under the new fiscal year???

Hey!......bright side!.......i still have a job!!!

Wordless Wednesday.......

Taking in the Sun!!!

Ohhhh....the trama.....

......or is it "the drama" of going to the Vet???!!!

Anyway the little stinker is a pudgy muscle and very healthy, like most Jack Russell's.......she's spoiled rotten ....as you can see....and when we got home she went to bed and napped all afternoon.....!!

Ahhhhhhhh......for the life of a spoiled pet!

Are yours as spoiled as mine?????

Shhhhhh.....

.....I'm hiding from Country Girl......maybe if she can't find me....she'll forget about today's appointment with the Vet for my check-up .......

Shhhh........!

Have a great Monday!

Blessed.....

One of my goals for 2009 was to find a home church....

Well....i'm sad to stay that not much progress as been made......

I live in the heart of the Bible belt....

There's a church on every corner...!!

Every week there's an invitation to visit and every week i make the same excuse.....

What's wrong with me??!!

I'm soooo blessed with family, good health, a good job and a wonderful place to live.....

I truly credit and thank God for all my blessings and know deep in my heart that Jesus died on the cross for me......

Maybe it's because i feel closest to the Lord sitting alone on my front porch....watching all his magnificent creations unfold before me.....

Community Watch........

....is watching the traffic at the new bird feeder.......

Beware.....

.....Community Watch!....

TGIF...

#7.....a 4x4x4......

To make a set of four placemats ....with four sides.....from four yards of material...

Wait a minute......four yards ...you say.....isn't that a lot of material?....remember you get a set of four ......with four sides......

Side one

Side two
Side three

and side four.......four times!!
Eash "side" is 1/4 yard of material.......
Confused yet??


Anyway......we found this great little template and pattern during the Shop Hop......in Decatur, GA....at Intown Quilters

http://www.intownquilters.com/

The instructions were a little daunting at first.....but, i powered thru....and it became clearer than a muddy mountain stream ...

Seriously....after making the first one....i hit my head with my hand and cried..."How simple!"

Kids dribble on the placemat.......just flip'm to a new clean side!!!

PS......there is no center seam!!!

#6

Well....to be totally honest....project #6 has been done since the end of March.....but.....here's the awful part.......i forgot to take pictures and post them!!!.....Sorrythis cute little table runner was made from one.....yes, one .....Charm Pack!!

I used the Petit Four pattern found on Moda Bake Shop in Feb or March....can't remember!

and the Charm Pack was .....Moda...."Oh My Dog"
Which has a very beachy....summery look

Used some aqua and bright pink from the stash to piece the back....
Cute....cute.....cute!

These colors don't match a thing in my house...sooo i'm thinking of saving it to give as a gift....

Pictures of #7 tomorrow.......

Just.....

....about nothing going on in my life today.....

Get up....get dressed.....eat breakfast....go to work.....come home.....cook dinner.....watch TV.....go to bed!

Blah....Blah...Blah..same ole' thing.....

I love my new life ...but...for some reason today i feel like i'm on a road to no where.....

OK....i can take the bad...with the good.....how 'bout you??

Again.....

...Again?.....Didn't we just do this thing called "Monday" last week???

It's rainy....it's foggy.....it's damp and cold....

the weather gurus have come out of hiding and are predicting snow "again" for Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.......

Is this the beginning of another fun filled week??!!

They're Back.....

.....the Hummingbirds are back!!!

Saw a little guy or girl.....it's hard to tell ........ this morning !

I was sitting on the old nasty lawn chair in the dog-run....waiting for Mia and Max to do they're thing ......when i heard the sound of a extremely large mosquito ....

Rushed to middle of the yard....looked up.....and there it was.....one lovely tiny bird.........sipping from the feeder we put out Thursday afternoon......

You know..................

In my former life the arrival of the season's first Hummer...would have gone un-noticed..

How could i have missed these wonderful little creatures all these years??

I like this life better!!

Two years.....

....two years! That's how long it took us to install this cute little log cabin bird feeder......We were given the feeder for a house warming gift before we moved in .....in Feb. '07....

By Feb.' 08 the post had been bought and cemented into the ground......


Then ......i came home yesterday.....April '09 and there it was!!!!

City Boy had attached it to the post!! and filled it with birdseed!!!

It only took 2 years and 2 months......

Ahhhhhhhh............retirement!

TGIF.....

Today's Sunrise

My goodness ain't that perrrrtttyyyy!...as the locals would say.....

Big question.........are we now locals??

Lived here for three years this coming June and have been vacationing here for 20 years....

Does that make us "local" or just flatlanders moved to the mountains???

Hummmmmm......something to ponder.......

Anyway...opening day of the Spring/Summer Farmers Market is tomorrow.......need apple trees.....must have apple trees.........maybe a pear , also......

Guess where i'll be tomorrow .....early!!!

Happy Birthday.......

You know.......there comes a time in life, when you don't feel as old as you really are.......well, that time is upon me........

Today is my female child's birthday...... i should be counting all the ways i love her, all the ways she makes me proud, writing about what a super wife and mother she is and all the sweet memories of her childhood......

But....... being the sick minded individual that i am........my mind keeps returning to the thought....

"I'm to young...to have a daughter this age!!!"

Love'a kid.......

Happy Birthday....Mom

Whew........

.....spent almost all night doing those "taxes".....but, they're in the mail!!

Happy IRS Day!!!

Tuesday.....

Good Morning.....

Another beautiful mountain morning........!

Ahhhhhh......where's the road??

Enjoy your Tuesday.......

Monday....Monday......

...but, when every Monday comes.....

Isn't that a song by the Mama and Papa's?

Another cold, wet, rainy dismal day in the Blue Ridge.....

sooooo......here's some pictures of Max and Mia enjoying last weeks snow......

Happy Easter.....

I'm watching you.....Mr. Easter Bunny!!!

and I have one question.......
Why did you leave those nasty peanut-butter dog treats.....instead of those wonderful yellow and pink - googy - nothing but sugar - Peeps??!!

Happy Easter.....

This is the super terrific steeple.......
on the little country church down the road.....

Perfect for Easter Sunday services.....what'a you think?

TGIF.....

I'm Ready...!!!Bring-on that Easter Bunny.......

Happy Easter!

Enough .... already...!!

What is going on with Mother Nature?

Is this a deliberate plot to keep us confused......?

Look what happened yesterday at my house....

9 AM

4 PM

9 AM

4 PM

the weather guru's have gone into seclusion ...under heavy medication!

No!.....Max...!!!!

...Don't lick the yellow snow...!!!!
This is what my little corner of the world looks like today....

How's yours?

What happened to Spring....??!!

#5.....

...well....these primitive Easter Bunnies almost didn't make it onto the quilt rack in time for the big egg hunt.....for some reason it seemed like it took me forever to get it done....

Maybe it was going back to work....or those other three projects i started ....or the Shop Hop in Atlanta.....maybe i just got lazy!!

Anyhoo......Thanks to yesterdays snow.......#5 is on the rack......!

Whoooaaaa!

More rain clouds heading our way.......

Suppose'a rain all day and then turn into snow tonight....

Someone told me ...."this is Spring!"

Must have been a weather guru.......

Special request.....

Had a request from Topper in CA for more pictures of Mia........

Well.. Mia is a bit camera shy...but, here are two good ones.....

We rescued Mia from a broken home, where she was living in a doggie crate for approx. 18 - 20 hours a day ...she was in good health and spirits...just needed somewhere to run and play....she came to live with us about 1 month before we moved to the Blue Ridge

To quote the male child......"Mia has become a true Mountain Diva with a "Miss Piggy" attitude..."

She's a princess.....a spoiled brat.....she has us wrapped around her paw...and she knows it....she's a champion beggar....great hole digger.....she chews her nails.....she loves to be dirty....hates a bath....she's an alarm system with her sharp- yappie bark....she thinks she's a guard dog and trys to act tough....she's a sucker for a dog treat and her favorite thing in the whole world is...."French vanilla ice cream!!"

She has her own personal chew toy...Max

She tolerates Miss Kitty......i think they share the same attitude...(poor Max)

She's also a super terrific snuggler on cold winter nights.......

Winks and sniffs.......to Topper..... her" look-a-like" new friend!

It's here!.....

....It's here....it's here!!! The day the males in this little mountain hamlet have been waiting for......the "Opening Day of Trout Season"...!!!!

And this year instead of the usual nasty rain, fog, cold, ice or snow......there's sunshine outside, the temps are expected to be in the high 50's....low 60's today.....!!!

Men and boys have been preparing for this day for weeks........checking those poles....the line.....the lures..... the canoes......the water temp and speed......picking just the right fishing hole.....you've got to be on the river early!!.......you can almost smell excitement in the air!....or was that bacon cooking...??

Swim fast little fishies......Swim fast......I'm on your side....swim fast!

TGIF.....

Got Milk?

Green...

Looks like Spring is really here........look at all the little green trees.....they'll be ready for Christmas.......

Look at all the new buds on this one.........Pollen abounds!!!
Thank goodness for the rain the last few days......any pollen free day..is a great day!!

Stay dry..........

Another.....

....yuck kind'a day in the Blue Ridge....spent another 3.5 hours at the dentist.....now we have to build up the tooth and then prep it for the crown....all i know is..."this is alot of money for a sore jaw every two weeks!!...and what is this "we" business??!!

Another new picture from the male child.......doesn't this little guy look like he's wearing an orange or yellow rain slicker?

And i love the rain drops on the pine needles.....can you see them?!

Stay warm and dry........later!