The Mountain Thymes

Decided to post these. They looked blurry when I view them large...not too bad small. The chef wanted a new George Foreman. He also uses a pressure cooker at home....!

Santa made it down the sooty chimney and filled the stockings. The quilted Christmas angel that Mom made many years ago. Mark arrived safely from MO on the 23rd. The Kansas City area had 6-8 inches of snow for Christmas . Mark looking for candy and toys in his stocking. Cliff got 2 pairs of new slippers from Santa so the old, moldy, disgusting, ratty ones are going to the landfill on Monday! This was a geriatric stocking....nasal spray, pill box, arthritis strength aspirin. Love my new tablecloth! The old fire alarm call box sheet from Hudson. Haven't seen this since I was a kid. Boy, does that bring back great memories. My birds were tapping on the window waiting to be fed. Cliff unwrapping Maxine's new toy. Exhausting day. I took more pictures but they were pretty blurry so didn't post them. This year I had the time to prepare for Christmas so we enjoyed our stockings and all the silly little things that were under the tree. Holidays can be joyous, yet difficult to

Maxine and I took our coffee out on the porch this morning at about 7:10 to absorb the sunrise. Actually, she positioned herself under a chair and waited for the squirrels to appear. The temperature was around 29 degrees and all was quiet. What a beautiful way to greet the day. Years ago when Cliff and I visited Boni and Bill at their summer mountain home in Pitkin, CO, we had our early morning coffee out on their 30 degree porch. We sat wrapped in blankets with our hands cupped around hot coffee mugs watching the morning arrive. It was such a peaceful way to start the day, that I do it here often. Thank you Boni for such a spiritual start to my day. Just a few shots of this year's lights. Last year we arrived on the 20th, with furniture in the U-Haul and being exhausted from teaching and the move, the only thing we did is take me to the hospital with a severely painful inflammation and swelling in my right hand, put up the Christmas tree, get groceries, and wait for Mark&#

Here are some photos of my stuck truck in the driveway in Virginia. It was in this position for most of the day, but I finally wrestled it out of the ditch at about 3 pm! What a great relief. :)

Did I get your attention!? This is not Murphy, NC! Lauria and Jim have over 12 inches of snow in VA and it was still snowing when she posted these. Jim drove the other car down the driveway and now it's lost. They hope to find it when the snow melts in the spring. The kids are having fun shoveling and playing in the snow. What do they know?!! We only had rain here in Murphy......over 4 inches. Thank goodness it was rain, not snow or that would be me in that picture!!

Some people should never try to make any form of bread dough. This was my second attempt....last night. Sunday night the first attempt ended up in flight outside wrapped around a sturdy oak tree. The dough in the bowl is what my attempt looked like after over an hour of "rising." I was determined not to let the dough win so I went ahead and spread the "flat bread" in the pan. Fearful that I might accidentally injure a bear or other innocent wildlife creature, this one when straight into the trash! Score: pizza 2, me 0 I don't crave pizza anymore. But if I do, Pizza Hut's number is posted near the phone.

Lauria added this piece in memory of her beloved Grandmother. "My piece of bread only belongs to me when I know that everyone else has a share, and that no one starves while I eat." (Leo Tolstoy)

NATIVE AMERICAN PRAYER author: native american prayer I give you this one thought to keep- I am with you still- I do not sleep. I am a thousand winds that blow, I am the diamond glints on snow, I am the sunlight on ripened grain, I am the gentle autumn rain, When you awaken in the morning's hush, I am the sweet uplifting rush, of quiet birds in circled flight. I am the soft stars that shine at night. Do not think of me as gone- I am with you still in each new dawn.