5 Things I'll Miss When We Move

As some of you may already know, we are planning to sell our home here in sunny warm NC and move back to not as sunny and warm NY to be closer to family.  I have tried for 16 years to get everyone to move down here....but I've been outnumbered. lol

So here is my list of 5 things I'll miss about North Carolina.

5) Kill Devils Hill and The Outer Banks

I absolutely loved the trips we have taken to The Outer Banks.  Walking the beach, floating the waves, and the shops are such fun.  Plus you're not too far from the wild horses of Corolla and in the opposite direction is Roanoke where you'll find lots of fun places to explore like the aquarium and botanical gardens.

4) Blowing Rock.

Closer to home is Blowing Rock, in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.  I can see the mountains from my front porch, but the trip up the mountain is so much fun.  The first stop is always at the rock....you'll get an amazing view if you are brave enough to walk out to the tip (I never have, lol).  Then into downtown to enjoy a great day of shopping and eating.

3) Emerald Hollow Mine

Right down the road from us is the little town of Hiddenite, home of the Emerald Hollow Mine.

It looks muddy, but it's a lot of fun, prospecting for gems.  

2) The NC Antique Trail

One of the things I love about the south is not only the lovely weather, but also the love of history.

Chuck and I always enjoyed jumping in the car and traveling the route to shop our favorite antique shops.

1) The Statesville Full Gospel Tabernacle

The place I will miss the most is my church.

It's not just our church..they are our family.

If you're in this area, and looking for a place to belong, to be loved, check us out.

So, what is your favorite spot in your neck of the woods?

Be blessed,

Debbi

Happy Birthday to ...... ME!

I know that at the end of yesterday's feature, I said that we would visit Kristen Perez's other shop, Secret Gems, but today is my birthday, and I want to spend it with y'all. <3

Today I am 50 something.  I decided on my 50th birthday to stop counting, lol.  You know what they say....as you get older the first thing to go is your mathematical abilities. hahaha

I had made a bucket list once  when I turned 50, and I refreshed it on New Years Eve last year.  So let's see what I have  accomplished in the past ? years and 9 months....

1.)  get a motorcycle license....

hmmmm, I think I'm now beyond this stage.  Chuck and I hit a rough financial patch and turned in our motorcycle this past spring.  And while Chuck still looks longingly at the other bikes cruising the roads, I am sort of relieved.  My beloved turned 72 this year, and I think there comes a time we have to admit that we just can't continue to do the same things.  I've seen too many accidents with motorcycles to want to take any chances.  But I can still hope for part 2 of this wish...get a classic Pontiac Trans-am.  Oh yeah baby!

2.)  Re-learn German.

I've actually started this one.  When we started homeschooling Hannah this year, part of her curriculum was learning a foreign language.  She chose Spanish, and so Chuck and I join her in her Spanish lessons every day.  We use a really cool app  from our local library called Pronunciator.  I went to a class at the library to learn about this program, and you can learn up to 50 different languages, and is much more user friendly than Rosetta Stone.  And best of all...it's free!  

So while I'm learning Spanish on the computers during school hours, I'm re-learning German with the app on my smart phone.

3.)  Rent a beach house on the beach for a week and have a family get together.

Yeah, that won't be happening anytime soon...unless I win the lottery. lol

4.)  Go to Florida to see my great-grandbabies.

We'll be leaving at the end of this month for a week and a half long vacation with our kids and grandkids and crew in Florida.  Our grandson is getting married (finally) and Chuck is performing the ceremony.

I am soooo excited!!!!!

5.)  Go to Vermont to see my great-granbabies.

Sorry, Nicky, but this will have to wait till we get the RV and start traveling.

6.)  Paint more.

Well, between homeschool and my shop, I haven't started that yet.  But I did sign up for a painting class, so there can be no more excuses!

7.)  Get closer to my Daddy.

I am so grateful that God meets us where ever we are, every day.  I do feel closer to Him, but also, the closer I feel, the more I want to get even closer.  It is Him that has blessed me this past year, abundantly, pressed down, shaken together, and beyond measure.  Thank you Abba.

So what are your dreams for your future birthdays?  While it's great to dream, don't wait to start fulfilling your dreams...today.

Be blessed,

Debbi

Saturday Shopping Link Up - country trips

I love me some John Denver....YEEEHAAA!

This weeks party theme is country life and/or motorcycle trip.  If you're wondering why, read yesterdays post here.  Now Chuck didn't come home with the tractor, yet, so we still have time to save my vacation...and when we do I think I'll wear this...

I love this Pink Dots Western Jumper Halter dress! But I just discovered that it's a child's dress, so I can't wear it, hahahaha. I wonder if the creator behind the Lil' Bug Clothing shop could enlarge this pattern....a lot!  Probably not...so I'll just have to order it for one of my great-granddaughters.

I now have a shop on the HandmadeArtistsShop site as well as on Etsy, and it was there that I found this great Leather Handbag in the shop of Woods Saddlery.  This handbag (or purse as us yankees would call it) would not only look great when I go sightseeing in Baton Rouge, but the style is just enough to let every one know that I'm just a country girl at heart.

And since I want to take this trip on our motorcycle, (haha no room for children) I had to add a bikers touch to this post, so I vroomed over to Zibbet (I have an empty shop there, lol) to see what I could find, and I found this Coat Rack Silhouette by Cabin Hollow.  I like this one because this is pretty close to what our bike looks like, plus I can hang my new handbag / purse on it. :~D

OK, now it's your turn, link up your choice of blog and/or shop item, and please feel free to link up more than one.  Be sure to share this party with your friends, because the more the merrier!!!!

Have a wonderful weekend, and I'll see y'all Monday!
Debbi

my dilemma

Good morning, friends....I need some help.  As you know we have a horse.  Actually Hannah has a Shetland pony that she doesn't ride, so in reality, I have an oversized dog that follows me around and looks for treats in my pocket.  And you would not believe the amount of manure one smallish pony can make; and there is my dilemma.  I have been planning (dreaming of, hoping for) a motorcycle trip (no kids, yea!!!!) to Baton Rouge LA for the Jimmy Swaggert Easter Campmeeting in April, but yesterday, Chuck informed me that since Tater Tot (the pony) has a favorite spot to use as his restroom, the manure has gotten thick.  And our tractor is old and dead.  So now he's looking to get a new/used tractor.  Which means no money for LA.  "That's just NOT FAIR" I cried (in my best little girl voice), but to no avail, he's looking for a tractor.  So do you think he would accept any of these tractors from Etsy so we can keep our money for the trip?

Antique Farm Tractor from Katwelder,    Apple Farm Tractor 2 from Simply Superior,    Antique Tractor from Puzzimals. 

No?????  How about if I wore this???

 

Farm Tractor Garter from Sheer Satin and Lace

So, here's where I need your help.  Tomorrow come back for my linky party, and link up all your items or blogs that have anything to do with farms, tractors, horses, motorcycles, trips, Louisiana...you get the idea!

Love y'all!

Debbi

the blowing rock, nc

This past Saturday, we took 2 carloads of adventurers to The Blowing Rock in North Carolina.  While we missed the beautiful fall foliage by a few weeks, the views were still beautiful.  For those who don't know about the Blowing Rock, legend has it that an Indian chief wanted to keep his beautiful daughter away from the white man, so he hid her in the mountains with a squaw mother to care for her.  One day she saw a Cherokee brave and playfully shot an arrow towards him.  He was taken by her beauty, and they fell in love.  Some time later, the brave thought to return to his tribe as was his responsibility.  The maiden cried and begged him to stay, so he jumped off the cliff.  The maiden was heart broken, and cried to the spirit of the mountains, and a wind came and blew the brave back up and into her arms.

 Now, while the formation of the mountains do create a unique wind funnel and Ripleys added this site for the snow that falls up, I'm not convinced that that wind would blow a man back up. But it is a beautiful story, with beautiful views.  The kids loved it, and this worked well with our recent homeschool lesson on mountains.  As you can see, everyone had a smile on their face, despite the cold temps.

 This last picture is my favorite, the girls looking for their handsome braves perhaps?

too much of a good thing is Wonderful

I just spent the last 30 minutes reading the wonderful blog by Leyla, proprieter of the Too Much of a Good Thing on Etsy.  She is also a fairly new member of the Besteam, which is a team of Etsy artisians that promote each other thru our blogs and twitter and facebook.  Now, getting back to Leyla, her blog is simply... well... wonderful.  She is a newlywed and her husband's name is Isaac (which means laughter), and it sure does seem that Leyla likes to laugh.  She blogs about book reviews, trips, new reciepes, and so much more.  It's one of the few blogs I scrolled down to read her older posts too. :)

She also has a cute shop on Etsy where she sells her creations of greeting cards and crochet flowers.  Here, take a look, then go choose something for yourself, or a friend.

Next do yourself the pleasure of checking out her blog.  I'm pretty sure you'll find something there to interest you.  Welcome Leyla, to the Besteam!