Friday Updates

Today is Paul's Mum's birthday! So, Happy Birthday Beryl ("B") !!!! Sure hope it has been a brilliantly perfect day for you. Hope the Birthday Fairies bring you a GREAT year to come! (the kitty accompanying Beryl is "Princess", who truly IS a Princess! She hisses and everything!)

These are the "boss men" for the Buck Mountain tree operation. Actually, the fella on the right is Graham who is the GM for the entire Christmas Greens Company. The other fella (on the left), Denver, is the operations manager, and a heck of a bow hunter from what I understand.

If you look closely you can see little yellow specks throughout the trees. Those are the men in trees as they look when it's raining and they are sporting the rain gear! Maximize the photo and you can see it more clearly. I love this picture because it shows the beauty of the trees and the way they are planted, kept, harvested and etc. Also, the elevation and the trees on top ... so gorgeous. I wish I could attach the aroma of the trees for you. IT is absolutely delightful when Paul walks through the door and brings "Christmas" with him!

The end of the work day, as the sun sets. Let me say here, this is when the temperature drops drastically and all of a sudden a coat is required!

Paul says it looks like a field of canaries when they're all in their rain gear. I can see why he'd say that! These guys are in the middle of a field with a baler. It's hard enough when things are dry, but when those trees are wet, they weigh a ton! And they're slippery! YUK!

After they're baled, they get stacked on the trailers, just like normal days ... even in the freezing rain (or snow) ... whatever the case may be.

Paul has a new hobby. He now makes "boggans". They are really called toboggans, but up here, all words get shortened for energy conservation. Anyway, this is one sample. I have reserved the entire subject matter for a separate post, but just so you get the idea ....

The trees get put on a conveyor and loaded into the semi trucks. After the initial gathering and "staging" of the trees, the trucks pull in to the staging areas and the guys fill the orders. The stores involved in this are Lowes, Home Depot, etc. Christmas Greens has a very nice list of retailers who buy their trees. :-) Home Depot is actually having their trees put onto pallets this year, so their staging area is a bit more involved this year.

Moving trees ... Paul is somewhere with a counter ...
Moving trees ... s t i l l .....

and it goes on and on and on ....

Shelby's beautiful Christmas cactus in the office

Bows for the BIG wreaths at the shopping center, tied by Mickey, who I work with

and more bows ..... for the Country Club wreaths tied by Shelby, who I work with also

and even a whole wall of bows for wreaths all tied by Mickey

and "the boys" basking in the sunshine waiting on the washing machine repair man to come pick up the washing machine. Apparently we have transmission issues. Thank goodness for warranties! (and sunshine)

our new faucet for the tub. YEAH! We have modern plumbing .... finally!!!

The Building Site!!! The footers are poured! There is progress! Blocks get placed next, then pad poured, then building built! It's in progress!!!!! This is the aerial view from the second story of the house (the sewing room, to be exact!)

The ground view! SO EXCITING!

Happy weekend to all!

P & C

Today!

After several hours of digging, pulling, and scrounging, I've discovered that the bottom corner of our yard was once a pig pen. How do you know?, I hear you asking. Well, it's the smell! I pulled out entire trees worth of logs and limbs ... then our building contractor, Ben showed up with his mega cool back hoe and was able to unearth cinder blocks, and all sorts of things. It is finally cleared of debris ... something I've been staring at and wanting to do for 3 entire years. And it is finally done!

Whoo hoo!!!

I finally found these very comfy chairs at Sherry's antique store (Mother Nature's Closet) on Lower Street in Elk Park. They look perfect in the dining room, and finally made that table look like a regular table instead of a massive black piece of furniture. It looks great ... finally.

Here we have (l to r) Paul, John and John's son ... John is the cement guy that is going to pour the footers for the building tomorrow ... and then the pad for the building on Tuesday (fingers crossed since the weather is always in question around here!). We are seriously hopeful it'll get done before winter weather sets in and makes things much more complicated.

This is Ben with his back hoe. I am seriously respectful of this monstrous machine. A 14 foot arm's reach on this baby. Very impressive. He's told us stories of his swimming in the lake with this thing (accidentally, of course) ... and some other intriguing times of turning over and etc. The life of a mountain man ... so interesting. He also digs a lot of graves around here. It's always interesting to learn about other people's lives, isn't it?

Just look at this beautiful and gorgeous sky! It was a fairy tale kind of day. We are so very blessed. And I mean every word of that! Life is good!

I cannot tell you how very exciting this is! Finally... there is some kind of action on this building construction ... well at least the ground prep part! VERY exciting!!!!! We might be in business by the first of the year after all! I know I keep saying this ... but fingers crossed!!!! And Mr. Boone's goats have been coming to visit on a regular basis, I truly think they might be our good luck charms. The love climbing on the wood pile. SOOOOOO cute!!!!!

Ben Benefield, the great excavator! This man is one gentle giant. He has the most peaceful soul and demeanor I've ever been in the presence of. Such a treat.

AND as a bonus, those HUGE tree trunks and roots will be taking their leave. I know the neighbors are glad ... but I really think I am the happiest person to see them leave. I LOVE not having all the debris lying about. WOW! It's like cleaning out a closet ..... only much much bigger!

It was a GREAT day. We got a lot of things accomplished that have been in the works for a very long time. It feels as though some of our dreams are becoming reality. How does one possibly give thanks for all the abundance of gifts that are landing right before our eyes??? We're trying to figure that all out too.

Hoping everyone is healthy, happy and blessed this beautiful November day.

Paul & Cheri

Tractors, Vistas, Views and Men in Trees! oh my!

Senor Paul, tree season 2009.
men in trees ... quite literally all day long!

Preferred tractor when it's snowing ... heater AND radio!

For sunny days

Another cold and wet weather cab

Paul's favorite one ...

Look at those puffy clouds!!! GORGEOUS!

Roan Mountain from Buck Mountain --- in Tennessee

Walking to get up to the trailer either to stack or to unload

remember those empty staging areas? Not so much any more!

More men in trees - smiling at that!

Trees, trees, trees!

Expert stacking - otherwise they all fall down! Not good when that happens!

In the mirror, there are still men in trees!

BIG TRACTOR!

Yep --- more men in trees (actually on trees!)

Beauty compliments of Mother Nature - Blue Ridges, green trees, brown dirt!

Getting started for the day. Bet there are plenty of deer amongst the trees.

Staging is filling up - they look like soldiers to me

another filling up ... coming to a town near you soon!

Yep, this is just what it looks like. Two years before Paul started driving, this fella gave his life in an accident as he was working the tree season. Albeit a bit sobering to realize how dangerous tractor driving is, it is comforting to me to know the guys have an angel out there on the mountain watching over them and keeping them out of harm's way. Thank you, "Nello", for watching over our men in trees. R.I.P.

Til next time,

Paul & Cheri

Tree season

And so it begins ... bows for the wreaths ... tied by yours truly in the evenings when/if I get to sit still.

This is the staging area for the trees after they are plucked from the field, baled and tagged, loaded onto the trailers driven by the tractor drivers (Paul is one of those guys) and delivered back to this area. It's empty as of yesterday's start ... but it'll be filled to the brim and then some soon enough. Then the trees are loaded into semis and taken to Lowe's and Home Depot (to name a couple of retailers) and off they go to you folks off of the mountain. So the next time you see a live tree, buy one! It keeps us employed and fed!!!!! But in the event you don't buy one, just send good thoughts our way. Lots of Paul's energy goes in to trees!

Just to give you an idea of the terrain ... it isn't like Florida! ;-)

So the driver is in the front on his tractor ... then the Mexican men throw the trees from the ground to the ones who are standing on the trailers to catch them. They are pretty amazing to watch work ... it's wondrous how they don't knock each other off the trailers some times because the trees are soaking wet with water and snow later in the month, and they weigh a ton. It's a HARD job.

These guys are baling the trees with wire mesh that keeps them nice and protected until they get to their final destination. Look at the pitch of the land! Listening to Paul describe driving on the hills is enough to give me chills sometimes! Yikes!

Loading the trailer (up close!) ... Fransisco is the guy on the left (not in yellow) with the tree. Paul says he is one of the strongest men he's ever met. As you can see by his stance, that tree is not light. These guys truly earn their living!

It was foggy yesterday ... so they cut and bale the trees and put them in rows for the drivers to pick up and take to the staging areas.

Yesterday's work was on top of Buck Mountain which is over just past our house in Tennessee. We'll keep you posted on the filling up of this area ... you'll be amazed.

When Paul got home last night he smelled SO GOOD! Just like a Christmas tree! I love this time of year. Even though we're only entering our 3rd season, it feels like tradition!

The time change has me all confused. It's only 20 til 5 and it's getting darkish. And it's cold because the sun is hiding behind the mountain already.

Paul installed some french doors at the mouth of the hallway last night! They look great ... and will look even better when they're stained and etc. He also installed gas logs in the bedroom and den. Our list is moving right along! Pictures to follow ... Paul had the camera so I didn't get to take photos yet. Hopefully there will be another set of french doors up in the doorway that leads to the dining room soon! Then the heat will be easier to direct. (well, we hope!)

Don't forget to vote tomorrow for all of you who vote!!!! And good luck to all the people who have a reason to be on a ballot.

Happy tree season to all!

P&C

Happy Birthday Cyndie!

Cyndie in the middle, me on the left, our friend Janette on the right ... probably 1963?

Cyndie : )

I have a little sister. She was born when I was barely 7 years old. We lived in Cocoa Beach, FL at the time ... my brother was 16 years old at the time and told everyone he was adopted! Cyndie was born early -- only weighing a little over 4 pounds. At 7 years old, I thought she looked funny and screamed loudly. What did I know, I was only 7!!!

This picture of her was the only recent one I could find ... and I LOVE the grin she has on her face. When this picture was taken, she was in NYC with her daughter (who I so gently edited from the picture since it's supposed to be about Cyndie) ...

Cyndie and her husband live in Clarksville, TN.

Cyndie, I hope you have a wonderful year ahead of you with magical wishes coming true. I hope y'all get to build your house and make those dreams a reality.

I hope you're healthy and happy.

I love you.

Happy Birthday.

your big sister, Cheri

Smile on our Faces

Linville Gorge - GORGEOUS

Arencha jealous? Almost all the trees look like this or completely golden. It is a color spectacular around here right now. Actually, we're almost over that part because the wind has added its dimension to the picture and it'll be raining this week as most of the leaves will hit the ground. But it has just been beautiful and a real treat after our very WET summer.

Such a gorgeous palette of color!
These pictures are courtesy of Ray's Weather site. They always have such gorgeous donations, it seems a shame not to share them!
Paul & I have just been busy as little bees ... the weekend flew by! Paul refereed some soccer, one game of which I actually got to see yesterday. It was so entirely wonderful to sit outside in the sunshine and watch the world go by. There was a soccer game to watch too if one was so inclined. I was just busy watching the cute ref waving his flag around. (tee hee)
We have begun putting out bids for the building so we're hoping to see that up and standing tall shortly. That is our number one project. Number two project is getting an electrician to FINALLY do the wiring work that will separate the kitchen from the rest of the house ... the upstairs from the downstairs (you'll be able to use a hair dryer now, girls) and the bathroom from everything else. I'm so excited about this!!! It means we can always plug in a heater if we want to. MY DREAM COME TRUE!!!!! Third project is getting the plumber to come over and properly install the claw foot tub parts, as well as switch out the lead pipes(!) for modern ones. We are so hoping this will take place before the lead poisoning has occurred. Will keep you posted! We will also get new and improved flexible piping for the freeze and thaw action that is so prominent around here for 6 months out of the year. Fourth, deciding on boiler heat or forced air heat. DECISIONS, DECISIONS!!!! I can't wait to begin posting pictures of all of this stuff because it will mean the updates have been made!!!!! YEEHAW and YEAHOO!!!!
Christmas tree season begins this weekend, so Paul will have a good 5 - 6 weeks of work coming now. YEAH!!!!! And he's scheduled to drive the tractor, so amen to that! His knees are in horrible shape. Reminds me of Festus from Gunsmoke the way he limps and groans. Guess we'll have to address that sooner than later now.
We'd like to have the building up and running by January 1 so we can start the new year with a new slate and some work - God willing!!!!! Hopefully there will be a little room in the back of it to partition it off and have a "studio" for the pottery kiln, a place for cutting mosaic materials and warping yarn ... you get the picture. If that fails, we'll abandon the welding shop plan and open a dance studio! SOMETHING will have to work! Starving and being destitute is NOT an option! :-)
There are oogogs of birthdays coming around this week. First and foremost, my sister Cyndie has a birthday on Thursday, the 29th. So HAPPY BIRTHDAY CYNDIE. Hope your dearest wish comes true.
Sue, who I work with at the real estate office, has a birthday on Thursday as well. Stefanie who owned the studio where I taught in Newland for a couple of years, has a birthday on Wednesday. I'm sure you two ladies will have a wonderful day filled with all kinds of treats!
I'm teaching a lot of dance at Crossnore now that the season is back in session. I teach Monday and Thursday evenings and Saturday morning/afternoons. I'm sore and tired! I'm hoping for that part to wear itself out so I can move through it and get over myself! I get to have a root canal Wednesday morning and would appreciate any spare good thoughts you might be able to forward my way. We have to go all the way to Johnson City to find an Endodontist. AND I have to be there by 9 AM! That could be a major miracle in itself! HA!
My sweet boss is very sick. He is hanging in there but could use any extra prayers and good thoughts you have sitting around. His name is Hugh. If you can, please think positive and happy thoughts for him as he gets through this "phase" of his healing program. He is such an amazing man and has given so much to so many. He is always serving on Boards of Directors in the community, giving his time and resources and doing more than his share to keep the community and the Club on the right path. Now it's his turn to receive. Blessings for you, Hugh. Gobs and gobs of them. And buckets filled with love.
My great friend Donna Taylor was scheduled to ride in the 'Live Strong' bicycle ride yesterday with her daughter and daughter's friend, Shelly and Erin in San Antonio, TX. They were riding in memory of Donna's first husband and Shelly's dad, Rod Taylor ... who was another amazing man, from Orlando. I can't wait to hear all the details!!!!! Hope it went well Donna!
Haven't heard much about the grandboys and their Halloween plans. HELLO????? Anyone going trick or treating? I need to know the themes of costumes so I can contribute ..... if anyone has seen these children or knows of their plans, please let me know! Thanks!
OK ... off to work now. Have miles to go before I'm done!!!!
Happy Trails!
Paul & Cheri