Catching up ...

Family, food & tractors, oh my! This has been a delightful Thanksgiving week for us here! Hopefully you can all say the same thing! These folks are my sister Cyndie; her husband Paul; and their grand-dog Braydon. Paul is an HVAC "guy" and in trade for Thanksgiving dinner, he ran all the copper wiring and heaters, etc into our house so we can now have propane heat! He also provided and installed heaters to go to the pipe, along with my Paul crawling under the house to help hook it all up, we have heaters now! THANK YOU, Paul, Paul G. & Cyndie!! All I had to do was cook ~ such a deal! :-) On the 29th the propane company is supposed to come and drop off a tank for us. We may actually get warm before the REALLY cold weather comes. My brother Wayne and his wife Debbie have very generously donated to our "wood stove installation" fund and that will be going in to the kitchen. We are trying (actually, I think it's my project as Paul doesn't really seem to be affected by the cold) to get heat sources that aren't interrupted when the electricity runs out ... if it's 10 degrees and the wind is blowing about 50 mph, we still need heat! Even if the electric company doesn't think so, I do! So, many thanks to my brothers and sisters for their very sweet and generous gifts to keep our teeth from chattering and our fingers and toes from being so numb! Even the cats with their fur coats are cold around here! The crawl up on the electric blankets with us at night!

I must say, it's very nice to have a sister to share the cooking and washing dishes with! I left home at 16 and Cyndie was only 8 or so ... this is my first time of having shared duties in the kitchen. It was GREAT! Thanks, Cyndie!! It was fun to have a sister here for a hundred other reasons. It's nice to just have GIRL time for a change! Our family is so small and scattered about, it is a special moment when we get to visit in person.

AND ... This is tractor Paul! Isn't he adorable?!?! He left yesterday morning to go and load Christmas trees on Buck Mountain in Tennessee. The temperature was some where between 10 and 20 degrees when he left. We never got much above 38 yesterday ~ but it was BEAUTIFUL outside ... blue skies, calm air. He is my hero! So if you have a live Christmas tree this year, I can tell you that it involved some true physical labor, some cold men, and a lot of dedication to working to get it to you. Paul's friend Charles, is driving one of the 18 wheelers that take the trees out and about to Lowes, Home Depot and etc. It takes a BUNCH of people to run the industry this time of year. Paul brought us a tree home yesterday ... so we'll be trying to get that up today after he gets home from work ... going to try to begin decorating the house today after my pot of coffee gets into my system and I get some "spunk" together!

On a TOTALLY different subject, I interviewed for a job last July at the Grandfather Golf and Country Club for which I didn't get. However, the real estate office that exclusively represents that club had a opening for an office manager/executive assistant. They invited me to interview for the job on Nov. 9th and offered me the job on Nov. 15th! I started work on the 19th. It's a wonderful job, with the hours being 8:30 to 4:30. I am still able to teach my dance classes on Monday and Tuesday. So my personal thanksgiving celebration has been quite huge for so many different reasons! I will still try to help my friend Terri with her website stuff at the other real estate office. But I no longer have to work 7 days a week, 3 or 4 different jobs. Thank goodness!!!!

Things around here are hopping, as always! It's time to change the clothes around from short sleeves to insulated; decorate for Christmas holidays; gather gifts for giving and supplies for making stuff ... busy, busy, busy. We wish you all safe travels, fun days and great health as we go full swing in to the holiday season! Cheers! Paul & Cheri

Happy Thanksgiving!

We just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to all! We are counting our blessings and saying grace over so many things this year. Mum has been through her surgery as is recovering with great strides. Jennifer is still in remission. (that sentence still makes my eyes fill with tears and my heart scream with joy!) All of our children and grandchildren are leading happy, healthy and remarkable lives. Our families and friends seem to be doing the same with good health, good fortune and good lives. Paul and I have wonderful health (except his cold from being in the rain and snow with the trees this season!), we have incredible lives and we are the luckiest people in the world in our opinions! We hope for all of you the same amount of happiness and joy ~ or more! And we also hope you can enjoy your Thanksgiving day and celebrate it with loved ones at a table filled with a feast! Safe journey to you who are traveling. Thank you for being a part of our lives. Blessings to all! Paul & Cheri

Paul's Mum!

"B", as she is known as, is having some rather serious health issues. As she enters into the hospital on Monday morning for a surgical procedure, please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. We wish for her to move through all this with a speedy and completely wonderful recovery so that she can get back to her normal life once again.

ALSO, her birthday is Tuesday, November 20th, the day following her surgery. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Mum. Hopefully your birthday wishes will be granted and your coming year will be free of any ill health, and filled with all good things instead!!!!

Much love to you, Mum. Take good care!

Paul & Cheri

Meet Bob & (Aunt) Jean Penny ...

This lady grew up in our house as the grand daughter of the man who actually built it, D.K.Jobe. She and her husband joined us for Sunday supper this week. It was absolutely delightful to hear the stories of her childhood and the recollection of where furniture pieces were placed, and what curtains were where. It was also great fun to get to know Bob & Jean. We certainly enjoyed the evening! And Jean kept closing her eyes to visualize things, it was quite precious. Paul and his treasure chest produced for her a perfume bottle he found in the "Indiana Jones Room" which she recognized as her grandmother's perfume bottle. So, now Jean has a little memento that she never dreamed of, I'm sure. Jean carved her name into our garage wall as a teenager, so she's forever a part of the house.

This is what tractor driver Paul looks like after a day in the Christmas tree fields. He's beat, wind burned, and spent. But he still tells me about the beautiful vistas and views and the camaraderie between all "the guys" out there. What a sweet spirit this man is, not to mention a good sport! It was truly freezing today ... as you can see by the pile of clothing he has to take off (yes, that is an insulated aviator suit, an insulated CARHART coat, and thermal shirts) and further testimony by the numbers on the thermometer on our back porch!! It is now cold. They started "blowing snow" today at the Sugar Mountain Ski Resort. 'Tis the season" ... This carrot and beat were picked out of the garden (because of the freeze and threat of snow) ... can't be a tractor driver without being a gardener as well, don't you know!?! Paul pulled dozens of carrots and cleaned and bagged them all. I'm so proud of him!

I had recorded a birthday date wrong, and would like to apologize to my dear friend Pennisu for missing it! Pennisu, I so hope you had a wonderful birthday and that your upcoming year of wishes and dreams all come true. I know you are ready to make it a banner year, so onward ho! Happy, happy brithday wishes!

Paul's mum is having some health "stuff" ... so please keep good thoughts for her as she tries to get some answers to the issues. We all certainly know how frustrating it is to just get through the process of finding a doctor, never mind finding out the what, where, why, etc. Best wishes to you, B.

Many many thanks to my brother (Wayne) for sending us another propane heater. I assure you it will be coveted!! I am so very grateful for your (and Debbie's) generosity. My sister and her husband (Cyndie and Paul) are coming up for Thanksgiving and to see what can be done to further improve our heating potential. Paul is in the HVAC biz ... thank goodness! We are very blessed to have such great gobs of help. Thanks to you all!

My son has been promoted to the General Manager of Ted's Montana Grill at Cumberland Mall. He sounds great ... up to the task. We wish him such great success and I'm such a proud mom! I'm waiting for pics of the boys in their halloween costumes for sharing ... will keep you posted on that! Jennifer is still doing great. We don't ever forget to say grace for her healthy self! And I'm waiting for pics of Christian too ... by the way .... Thanks to all of you who ask about the kids. It makes me feel good to be able to report back with such good news!

I start at the wreath nursery tomorrow, so must go to bed. Not only will it be an early beginning, it will be a freezing one. Must be rested so I can brave those "elements" all rolled in to one! As you can see, Paul is already resting!! :-)

Blessings to all ... Paul & Cheri

An Adventure Like no Other!

Here's ref Paul!! Isn't he cute! And the concentration on his face just makes me giggle! HE's a hero up here in the soccer industry. The kids love him and the coaches all seem to respect him since he's got the "English thing" going on. We should all have such success with our accents! :-) And thanks to Janet (Paul's sister) for the official uniforms!

Paul began driving his tractor for the Christmas tree industry on Tuesday!!! He's having a wonderful time!! I never thought of him as a tractor driver, but he's certainly proving he is. He's working for Jack Weissman, who is the largest tree supplier around. He's responsible for about 3 million trees/year. They've already cut, bailed and hauled the entire Crossnore area so he's moved over to a mountain right off of the main highway about 5 miles from our house. Currently he's on Buck Mountain ... in Tennessee .... I'm sure enjoying the GORGEOUS panoramic views. I hope it stays as beautiful weather wise as it has been. I'm sure he's freezing in the morning before the temps get above 30 ... but by noon it's usually 55 or 60 and he's peeling off layers of flannel! He looks more and more like a local every day!!! His eyes are so blue it's amazing. They look like they're reflecting the Carolina blue sky. He's just shining! But his body is sore at the end of his day and he's ready for a siesta! Probably the influence of all the Latinos he works with now! HAHA! He's learning about siestats, and I'm sure they're going to be drinking hot tea by season's end!

I begin working in the wreath business next Wed. when I officially begin 7 days/week. I'm working for Sugar Mountain Nurseries, who also has a wreath wholesale, retail and mail order business. I hear we ship out gobs and gobs of wreaths all over the world. Should be interesting! Paul & I will both be working 7 days/week for about the next 3 weeks. This brings me to say, we won't really be having any leisure e-mail time, so please be conservative with what you're sending to us right now! And kindly understand that you won't get prompt replies! Also our home internet service has been down all week so I'm having to use the real estate office's internet! Hopefully we'll have ours back tomorrow afternoon ... we'll see!!!!

Hope all of you out there had a wonderful Halloween and are now getting prepared for Thanksgiving. I can just hardly believe it's holiday time again already! I remember my mom saying how fast time was flying ... I didn't understand it then, but it's oh, so REAL now!!! I finally get it, mom!

There are copious amounts of birthday celebrations coming up. One is my my very good friend, Valerie Marozzi. So Val, happy birthday, honey. I hope all of the candles on your cake represent a wish that will come true for you this year and that you are blessed with good health, gobs of love and great happiness!!! I miss you greatly!

Happy November to all! Paul & Cheri