The Mountain Thymes

After an usually frigid winter, signs of spring are such a welcomed sight. This isn't one of those signs. Isn't this a great dead tree for woodpeckers? We'll keep this one when we clean up some of the dead wood. I just love these pileated woodpeckers. (spell check!) They are so majestic and so loud! The start of my herb garden from seed. I think the ones in front are sweet basil. Others are Italian parsley and Early Girl tomatoes. If you look really close, you can see the buds on the wild dogwood. Temperatures are 68-70 most days now. Daffodils in Tom and Jean's gardens. The beginning of Tom's vegetable garden. He already has potatoes, onions, and lettuce planted in the little side fenced gardens. Daffodils along the 4-lane in Murphy. Day lilies will be next. Konehetee Park where we walk. Some kind of a tree. More day lilies in Murphy. What a great sign of spring.....John Deere tractors!!!!!! Cherry trees in bloom along the 4-lane in Murphy. Miles of beau...

The John Campbell Folk School in Brasstown hosted "Empty Bowls" tonight in their dining room. For the past couple of months the local potters have been throwing and firing clay for this event. All the proceeds go to Cherokee and Clay County sharing centers to feed the needy. We bought tickets but Cliff forgot he was going to be at fire school all weekend so I had to eat his food, too. Each ticket holder got to pick out a piece of pottery to keep. The meal was wonderful. All the homemade beef barley soup, fresh salad, homemade wheat bread, and raisin oatmeal cookies you could eat. Eight unique pieces of pottery were donated by the local potters for the "brown bag" raffle. Some lady in line bought $100 worth of tickets for the raffle. I bought 2 tickets.........so couldn't believe what I heard when my raffle ticket number was called off! I checked it 3 times before jumping up and claiming my piece of pottery. I'd love to place it out on my porch to ...

Yeah!! I did it....and it's edible!!! great recipe, thanks, Jim. Next time...pizza. Didn't have any mozzarella cheese or sauce without mold growing around the edges of the jar today. But wanted to try the recipe.

OK....another attempt at making bread. Stay tuned. Last night Cliff came home from class at 10:30 and the frame of his bifocals broke. After a few choice words, we cut think strips of duct tape and " geeked " the frame together until we could get to wally-world this morning. The optometrist searched all the frames to fit the lens and couldn't find one in her expensive name brands. My father would have loved this because she finally found a plastic pair on the 50% off rack that fit the lenses.

Happy 5th Birthday, Sofia! May your day be blessed with kind words, happy feelings, and may you be surrounded by warmth and comfort as you celebrate this special day.

Nothing much happening up here in the mountains. Cliff has one more week of his night classes. It's all coming together for him and he's really enjoyed the challenge. Thursday the 18th is his final grueling exam. We'll both be glad when it's done. It's consumed his every waking moments. His shingles are under control and he only has a few tender areas on his shoulder/neck area. He says he understands what pain is now and empathizes with people who deal with chronic pain, managing it daily. You really have to walk in someone's shoes................ Speaking of pain, our weather has been so gorgeous lately that Tuesday I went out into the woods with my trusty saw and clippers, started hacking down dead branches, small trees, and pulling away logs and brush to get an area ready for my raised gardens. Wednesday my right thumb joint was so sore and swollen, I could even open a bottle of Shiraz! I had to drink tea. Today it's better. Before I go back i...

This was last week. The young possum climbed up here as the wind blew and the trees swayed back and forth. It stayed up there all day in the 30 degree temps. I froze just watching it. As soon as the sunset and it was dark, the possum climbed back down and I haven't seen it since. My latest project was making paper dolls for the kids. The dolls and the clothes have magnets attached so the kids won't get too frustrated just depending on the tabs to hold the clothes on. My coloring looks like some of the work my 5th graders did. The children can color the bodies if they want and I included more clothes for them to color. Of course, Jim and Lauria will get stuck cutting out the clothes. Sofia Hayden Grant Weather has been lovely the past four days, temps reaching into the 50's and lots of sun. We took a ride to Ellijay, GA this afternoon and used the last Christmas gift card for the Longhorn Steakhouse. To my children...........we're out of Subway ...

Snow is gone.....melted away. Sun and clouds today, 44 degrees and very breezy. By Saturday we should be at our normal temperatures in the low 60's! Hallelujah !! Cliff continues to improve, sleeps better at night now and feels more alert during the day. It's amazing how long the sores take to heal and the muscles and skin on his left shoulder are still very tender. He has 3 more weeks left in his medical course. It's been good for his brain to tackle something out of his comfort zone. Thank you to all who have wished him well in his healing.

This is not today's. I just like the cardinals and all the birds and animals we have. What a surprise...........more snow!!! Huge flakes. It's still very peaceful................. We have plenty of kitty litter for Max and plenty of wine for us. This is a fast moving storm and will be gone by tonight so I need to drink quickly. Snow will probably be gone tomorrow when the sun comes back out. As I post this, the snow has let up and we only have about an inch. By Saturday, the temps will be high 50's. This is the way I like snow. Here today and gone tomorrow!