Vivi's Turning Two Pow Wow

Vivi's decorated Tee Pee with real flowers

In love with her horsie 

PARTY!!!!!!!!!!

Coloring cowboy pictures...

Cowgirl quilt I made Vivi

Relaxing with Grandaddy.....

I can't believe Vivienne is two years old already.  Even though, it seems like she has always been in our family.  Michelle out did herself with throwing her Pow Wow for her second birthday party.  The day before her party, Vivi had her other Grandma come to celebrate with her.  She was really surprised when Grandaddy and I walked in the next day.  This is the only time she has had us all together except for the wedding last Fall.
   Before Vivi was born, Chuck and I found this fun rocking horse at our famous thrift store and I just had to get it.  It looked brand new.  I figured either a little boy or girl would have fun with it.  Well, Vivi certainly has.  We also found a great little Tee Pee at the same store.  We paid $5 for it.  Since then we have seen them in stores for $99.  With all of this,  Michelle came up with the Pow Wow for her party.  When Michelle first told me about the Pow Wow, my mind starting turning with ideas for her presents.  I got busy with making a " cowgirl" quilt.  I knew my friend Marilyn who owns a quilt store, had " cowgirl and horse" fabrics.  Marilyn quilts all my quilts for me and she even had a " horse pattern" for the quilting.  How perfect!!  When I was a little girl, I always wanted a " stick horse"......so of course Vivi was going to have one.  She was so cute riding her stick horse around the living room.  She does love " neighs" ( that's what she calls horses)  Her other Grandma bought her a really fun present.......a tire swing that looks like a horse.  I think they are so cute!!!!  Vivi might not remember her second birthday when she grows up but she will have pictures to show her how wonderful it was and how much she is loved.

January Means Snowmen.....

Our one bout with winter

Sun Room Snow Men

The only snow we got this winter.....
Another chalk board by " Michelle" 

George taking a " winters nap" 

January usually means " snow".  Well, not this year.  The only snow we got this winter was with the " snow men" I put through out the house.  We had a very mild winter as we did last year.  Some days, I thought I was back in Florida.  Winters like this confuse all the plants and flowers.  They get buds and BAM...we get a frost and it ruins the buds, which ruins a pretty Spring. Usually the daffodils and tulips make it even if the winter weather does show up again.  So much for winter this year.....

Our " Fitbit" walk

Geese leaving the lake.....

we walk a little over 3 miles

cow trough   

I never knew one Christmas present could change my daily life so much.  Michelle and Craig gave me a " Fitbit" for Christmas.  It tells me how much I walk, sleep, eat and just about anything else you want to know about yourself in a day.  You are suppose to be walking 10,000 steps ( four miles) a day.  Did you know that?  Let me tell ya....four miles is a lot longer than you think.  I thought I walked a lot just around Brambly Pines every day but not even close.  So, Chuck and I started  going over to the Indian mounds close to our house and walking the paths until we've walked at least 3 miles.  It's a beautiful place to visit every day.  You see tons of birds ( now that it's early Spring) hundreds of turtles and Chuck always counts at least over 60 Canadian Geese.  On the farm next to the mounds, there are two zebras....yep....zebras...ha.  Two special looking long horn steers and a donkey.  There is a " cow trough" along one of the paths at the mounds.  Way back in the olden days, they would fill this trough up with poison and tie something around the necks of the cows so their heads would stay out of the water and walk them through to kill some kind of bug that was on the cows.  It's kinda weird walking thought it.  My walking schedule has become walking four days a week at the mounds.  One day I have to take to go to town for groceries and I need the other two days of the week to get things done around Brambly Pines.  I figure walking on an average of 20 miles a week is better than what I was doing.  The good thing about it is....it's making Chuck walk more and it's helping his legs from his surgery.  It was really like a present to both of us.

Looks like Christmas.....

New " fake tree" 

Santa tree

Christmas kitty...

Christmas kitchen

New chair cushions

New Christmas apron

My favorite Christmas room in the house is the kitchen.  I'm still finding ways to use the $1 bolt of Christmas fabric that Lady Melanie gave me about 3 years ago.  This year, I made four chair cushions and an apron with it.  I still have fabric left, so who knows what I'll come up with for next Christmas.
     This was our first year with a " fake tree".  Yes,  I did miss the wonderful smell from the real tree but I didn't miss having to keep it watered and the mess of all the needles.  I didn't miss having to deal with putting the lights on it either.  I loved the shape of the fake tree and how you just take it apart and stuff it back in the box....until next year.  I have had a collection of " glass Santa ornaments" for a few years now.  I used to put them on a small tree all by themselves.  This year, I decided I would use them on our new fake tree.  The Christmas theme of the living room is now " Santa" since we have a little one who "believes" again.

Christmas Tour

A really fun way to start the tour.....

I know!!  I'm so far behind with the blog.  I really haven't given up writing on it.  Life has just gotten in the way.  Soooo......go back a couple of months and here is how we celebrated Christmas.  The weekend of December 11, Michelle and Vivi came home to start our Christmas celebration.  On that Saturday, we went to my Quilt Guild Christmas luncheon in Hartselle at the Freight House.  The food was really good and the company was with some of my favorite people.  On Sunday, we drove over to Courtland to go on the " Christmas Walking Tour".   It all started out with a " Horse Drawn Carriage Ride".  One of Vivi's favorite things are horses now.  She was fascinated with such a BIG HORSIE.  It was so fun to be able to go inside people's beautiful houses and see how they were all decorated.   It was a perfect way to start the Christmas celebrations.

Belle Chevre

Elaine outside the closed creamery 

two old goats!!!

very expensive!!!!!

The Belle Chevre goat creamery in Elkmont, Alabama wasn't far from the apple orchard that we visited.  Chuck and I have been wanting to check it out for some time now.   The thing is...when we got there, the creamery tour building was closed but you could visit with the goats and the store where you could buy things, was open.  Yah!!! for us.!!!!  They let us sample everything that you could buy there.  Different cheese's, ice cream and cheese cake!!!  It was all wonderful!!!!  Would have loved to have brought everything home with us but we did buy two different cream cheeses .  Chuck " thought" about buying a cheese cake since it was sooooooo good!!!!...until he saw the price of $30 for a small cake.  It made our free sample that more enjoyable....ha

Another Apple Orchard....

Crab apples....

Elaine trying to decide what kind of apple stuff she wanted

the BEST apple cider EVER

bought some.....

not only apples....but gourds and pumpkins

Fred under the chestnut tree

chestnuts on the ground....

chestnuts on the tree

Fred and Elaine followed us home from the wedding to stay for a couple of days.  They were a big help to us around the house with Fred helping Chuck re wrap the green house for the winter and Elaine helping me keep things watered with the drought we are in.  We needed a " fun day" before they left for North Carolina to see friends.  ....sooooo we went to the apple orchard that is on the Alabama/Tennessee border.  Elaine wanted some apples to take home with them.  Scott's orchard had tons of them!!!  They also have the best apple cider you could drink.  It's like drinking liquid apples.  It's WONDERFUL!!! Chuck and I have been to this orchard a couple of times and never noticed that they have two big chestnut trees out front.  I had never seen chestnuts growing before so didn't know that they are in cased in a covering of prickly thorny things!!!!  The covering splits and then the chestnuts fall out.  Have you ever roasted chestnuts on an open fire?????  I have and didn't like them.  They are mushy!!!!  like boiled peanuts.  ...( Fred).  We left with apples, apple cider and vinegar.  Our next stop was to the goat cheese creamery...........