NANA NOTES

ALWAYS EXCITEMENT AT COTTON BRANCH!!

There's a website here called "You know you live in Franklin County if".  This is one of those things!!  Ed has had a friend from Virginia here riding bicycles with him getting ready for the Ride the Rockies ride in June.  They have ridden every day and left to go on their ride on Tuesday.  Not to long after they left the phone rang.  Ed said, "we just met this guy at Fenn's riding a bicycle. I'm sending him to the house to take a shower and we're feeding him steaks for supper."  You know the next words out of my mouth!!  He convinced me it was ok and Ryan was here with me so we went to the barn and sure enough, there stood a nice looking young man with a bicycle.  His first words were, "you husband didn't call you."  I said that he did and we introduced ourselves.  We brought him up to the house, he took a shower and came down to visit with Ryan and me.  I asked him how he got here. He was riding from Chicago to Mobile.  My response was, "obviously no wife and no job!" He said, "understanding girlfriend and between jobs." Lawyer by profession he was changing firms and had talked them into a couple of months break. He usually hikes but decided to ride his bike to see if he could do it.  I can't remember his specific route but he had left Nashville and ridden the entire Natchez Trace to Natchez. What a beautiful ride that must have been!!!  He rode by day and camped out by night. He's ridden 50-60 miles a day except for Easter Sunday and one day that it rained all day.  I wonder what he thought when Ed and Jim turned around and asked him if he wanted to come here? He did say that it was an invitation too good to refuse. Matthew John McDonald, lawyer from Chicago and new friend of Cotton Branch!!  Linda got here before Matt left. She is never surprised at what goes on at the "Branch". She watched him pack his gear.  He had a sleeping bag, books, a small cook stove and clothes. He bought food and drinks as he rode. After gearing up Matt was ready to take off. I said my goodbyes and left for wound care. I couldn't watch him leave. He had been fed a great steak dinner, chocolate pie and homemade ice cream, a full Southern breakfast and given a Cotton Branch tshirt to remember us.  His next stop was Bogalusa, LA and then on to Fairhope, AL to see his Godchild that he'd never seen.  Our prayers go with you Matt McDonald!!  Without a step of faith we'd never had you in our life.  What a blessing we would have missed!!  God speed and safe travel!!  I hope we hear from you some day!!

2012 "Furniture Styles" Flower Show

Pine Burr Garden Club had its annual flower show yesterday at the historic building that housed the Franklin Furniture Store for as long as I've lived here.  The girls did an amazing job on getting the building ready.  Since I haven't been able to attend any of the meetings this year I felt a little bit like a fish out of water for a little bit. After a while at the desk, it all came back!!  Wilma Holland wrote the schedule and was chairman of the show. She did an wonderful job!!  She gave us a challenging show to do and as usual the girls rose to the occasion!!  Class 1: Cottage Style-- The blue ribbon winner which happens to be mine. I really lucked out with this one!!  As you can see I had some serious competition!  The other ladies did a great job!!

Class 2: A Collage featuring Modern Styles

Beverly Gabbert's collage won the blue and Dorothy McGehee Award. 

Class 3: Retro-- A very proud moment for our Chairman and Schedule writer!!  Not her first blue ribbon but her first "big" award.  She won the Designer's Choice Award and the Barbara Herring Design Award.  A very happy lady!!  She did a great job on her very first schedule writing and was highly complimented by the judges.  Congratulations, Wilma.

We had 91 pieces of horticulture.  That was nice since we'd had a big rain a few days before.  Carole May won the very first Grower's Choice Award given by our club with her lovely begonia. Congrats to Carole for that award. 

 

Awards of Merit went to Carole May and me

 

And the winners are!!  Great day for these four ladies and all the rest too!  Congratulations to all on the beautiful flower show.

END OF TRAPPING SEASON 2012

 

For the last five months Ed has been getting up before the sun and leaving to go set and check his traps. His lifelong friend, Buddy Ruff started trapping with him and they got in cahoots with Elton who was trapping on his own.  The UPS and FedEx people now know us by our first names and are probably missing us at this point. Ed ordered more trapping stuff than I have scrapbooking stuff (joke here!!).  My entertainment was hearing about the day and seeing the pictures.  The part I liked best was that Ed was having so much fun. I don't think I've ever seen him with a hobby that provided him with the excitement and fun that he's had during these months.  I could post lots of pictures of his catches and I think I have put some but here is the final day before taking the furs to the fur trader.  These guys did a good job. The traps are now cleaned and ready for next year and he's ridden off on the bike!! 

CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION 2011

What better way to start the Christmas weekend than a beautiful communion service!!  Josh, Ed and I attended along with our MUMC family (and some extended Herring family that came from out of town). I love that service. Then it was home to a wonderful gumbo supper prepared for us by a friend who has done that for several years. (Thanks, George!! It was wonderful!!) Josh wasn't going to be with us today so he opened his gifts.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

I found what I think will be his favorite gift under the tree when all the gifts had been opened!!  Sure hope he comes by here soon.

Church today was very good. We had Jody, Tiffany, and all the Cowarts. What better place to be on Christmas Day!!  Then off to the homestead to finish up lunch for 2:00 pm.  It was delicious even if I did cook it!!

We have a tradition that the kids move the table back when they finish eating and arrange the chairs in a semi-circle. I was finishing my dessert and Tiffany told me that they had moved the table and gotten ready.  She said I'd better hurry up or they were starting without me!  You can't start without Nana--she's Mrs. Santa!!!  :)  We sang "Happy Birthday Jesus" and began opening the gifts. They are older now and actually held off wanting to rip everything apart!!  We did it one person at a time. 

Sam got the hoodie he wanted!!

 

 

 

 

Everybody got a set of 1500 threadcount sheets.  I don't know who was the most excited!!

Boots and More gift certificates. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jody and Tiffany are going to have to take a trip to Jackson!!  The girls got "Mall" cards!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graham and Ryan picked out hunting clothes and Haleigh picked out dishes. All were happy!!

 

 

Ben had chosen boots and I actually could find his size. He loved them. I told him if I ever saw them in his yard, Papa and I would buy no more!!

 

 

 

Tiffany asked for Tervis Tumblers and threatened anyone who removed them from the house!!  As in, she better not find them at the office!! :)

Shelby wouldn't ever tell me what she wanted. Tiffany knew she wanted some Oakleys and she knew there was a website where you could design your own.  We designed her glasses and she was sooooo surprised.  They even have her name etched in the lens.  No one will get these!!

This was my favorite gift!!  Sam didn't know he was getting these.  He asked for a specific hoodie and pants. I saw these when I was ordering something for Ed and we both said "yes" the minute we saw them!!  Sam said, "I look like an old man." But he loved them.  They are insulated so he can hunt in them too.  Just so darn cute!! 

 

We gave Abby (our niece) luggage. She liked it!!

 

 

 

 

 

We gave Tom and Shirlee a Keurig Coffee Pot. I don't even drink coffee and I love that thing!!

 

 

Jody got a custom made Dopp Kit with his initials debossed on it. He said he needed it. Hope he likes it.

I guess Shelly can go to Boots and More with the Herrings.

 

 

 

 

 

The Cowarts knew just what I wanted--a Shark Steam Mop!! Now I can clean up after the dogs!!  Somehow we missed Jennifer opening her SECOND Kindle Fire!! 

Papa got a wonderful Pen and Pencil set. 

With his crayon maker. I think I want to do this with him.

Everyone was much too good to me. Papa was so sweet and gave me beautiful things. The children gave me loving gifts; some of them were handmade which I love.  We enjoyed the day with family. It's sad not to have little ones but it's fun with older kids too!  Merry Christmas Cotton Branch Gang!!

FED US PHEASANT!!

Ed and Jody went to South Dakota several weeks ago on a pheasant hunt.  You can see that they did well.  Jody had cooked some before and told us how to cook them.  Ed went shopping for all the supplies and fixed them for the Herring Bicycle Team.  Being prepped for the grill.  Peppers, onions, tomatoes, bacon, pheasant, pepperjack cheese and Italian dressing. Finished dish!!  They were "Phabulous"!!  None left to snack on the next day!!

Footnote:

Dr's visit went well.  Counts were up a little and CAT scan is planned for Monday. Dr. visit on Tuesday.  He considers me to be "stable". When we see the results of the CAT scan, he will decide on treatment changes if any.  I get next week off--yea!!

Please pray for Libby's mom, Eunice Norton.  She will be having hip replacement surgery on Wednesday of next week.  She is one of my "other mothers".  :)

For the last few days we've been driving in the mountains sightseeing and enjoying the wonderful colors of the leaves.  All of a sudden we've gone from short sleeves and flip flops to sweaters, coats and uggs!! Rain and cold weather moved in fast. We wished for a fire place and some wood!  Of course that was the day we chose to shop.  We drove to a lovely little shopping area in Pigeon Forge.  The most interesting shop for me was one with a 30 year old embroidery machine that a man used to do monograms by hand.  It was amazing to stand there and watch him form the letters freehand since I just program my machine and it creates the letters for me.  It doesn't take much to entertain me I guess. In this picture he was monogramming "Nana" on my watermelon colored sweatshirt. I love it!  We came back to the Apple Barn and had a late lunch and went to find apples.  We met a very sweet man on the side of the road who was selling apples out of the back of his truck. He said they were picked that morning. The apples are delicious and we bought a lot!! He grew the apples in his orchard. They still had leaves on them.  Don't these just look delicious??? I'm thinking fried apple pies!!  This was made the morning before we left for home.  We made one more round of shopping to see if we needed anything else to fill the car! Notice that I did not mention how many times we stopped for fudge or show pictures of dessert.  In the whole time we were gone we only had dessert twice--because we had fudge everyday!!  Ask us if we like the pumpkin!! Three crazy ladies turned loose in the Smokies; we had a wonderful, memorable, terrific time together. I am so blessed to have sweet friends.

2011 GATLINBURG TRIP CONTINUED

 

We left off at Cades Cove and I don't think we went to be any night before midnight.  I had to watch an episode of "Chopped" in order to get to sleep!! :)  The following day we drove up to Clingmans Dome. The colors were just as beautiful or maybe more so.  I haven't enhanced these photos either!!

The mountains were beautiful but I loved driving through the roads looking at the trees and streams.  We still had short sleeve weather on this day. The rain was supposed to come in the next day. I saw evidence of bears but because of some people's sensitivity I will refrain from putting that picture up!! :) Yes, I took a picture!  During one of our outings we were "sort of" lost in the mountains. We rounded a curve and at least 20 turkeys were feeding on the side of the road.  I started screaming, "stop, stop, I've got to take a picture." People were honking for us to move so we did, but I got one on my phone so I could send it to Ed and a couple with my camera.  You know how I love my turkeys!! 





Every time we drove through Pigeon Forge I kept telling Ed I saw the Titanic. He'd say, "Barbara, the Titanic can't be there, it sank." (That's a joke with us--when the movie came out--long story.) Finally, I got pictures.

Tomorrow--rain and cold weather moves in. To be continued---

2011 TRIP TO GATLINBURG WITH THE GIRLS

I don't think I've ever been away from home for ten days without family!!  Deb invited Libby and me to go to Gatlinburg to stay in her family's timeshare there.  I think it was even before I got sick--I immediately said "yes"!!  It's been a very long time since I've been to the mountains.  We left last Thursday and just got back tonight.  We all took our computers but something was wrong with the internet connections there and we couldn't get online. Did I mention withdrawals??  I mostly wanted to blog each day since I hadn't been doing any blogs lately.  I finally had something to blog about and couldn't.  Ed took our picture the afternoon we left. He bought us these hats in Orange Beach. We truly are the "Joyful ladies".  We drove to Tuscaloosa and spent the night. Then on to Gatlinburg. This was the front of the building and by the entrance to our room.   

 

 

                The next morning we walked down the street and had pancakes!! 
The pancakes were wonderful.  We ate in the "SEC" section!! 

My black walnut pancakes were delicious. I have to say that I ate every bite!! I am not ashamed!! I have now confessed!!  After breakfast it was off to the Craft Fair at the convention center.  We enjoyed that.  The next day it was off to Cades Cove where the leaves were beautiful.  We visited the Cades Cove Primitive Baptist Church where the tombstones in the cemetery dated back to the late 1700's. Neither Libby nor I got a picture of the church.  I sent Ed a picture made with my phone of me sitting on a boulder in the middle of a beautiful stream like this. Glad I didn't fall in.  Libby was so sweet to drive most of the time. Ed had told them not to let me drive and make me rest. This is where I spent my time in the car.  I have to say that I could get used to it--I actually let someone help me.
This is going on way too long--so I'll write some more tomorrow.  You can't do a ten day trip in one blog!  to be continued.....................................

2011 Summer Crop Connection

 

I can't believe that Summer Crop Connection has come and gone.  We've waited six months for the weekend and it went so fast!!  We had 14 "Scrapping Sisters" (missing two) to attend and we had a great time.  The Crop Connection girls treat us royally and we literally go three days with little or no sleep and have a "scrapping good time"!  There were several "newbies" with us who were awesome scrapbookers.  It was fun seeing friends from other towns and meeting new friends.  We really got noticed in our orange shirts. Michael's gave us a discount and a totebag!! That was because we bought out the store!! 

Birds of a feather crop together!  That was the theme of the weekend. Isn't this arrangement cute?  There were birds everywhere!!  There are four cancer survivors in our group. Three of us were there.  You can see who the clowns are!!  Pat and Sharon with me in our green shirts!!  We're always looking for a photo op!! 
LeighBeth, SallieCat and Jessica-three of our newbies!!

Andrea, Nadine and Deanna are the ladies behind Crop Connection.  They plan and work for months to give us the wonderful weekend we enjoy so much.  Thank you beautiful ladies for the great Summer Crop Connection!!

ONE BEAUTIFUL DAY!!

There's not enough time or space to write about the wedding. God blessed us with a beautiful day and wonderful family and friends to share the day. It lasted until the wee hours and on into Sunday. The pictures only tell part of the story!! https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=576241373#!/media/set/?set=a.10150212179691374.311067.576241373 Click on the link and then click on the first picture. That will make them bigger and you can move through the arrows to see the pictures. Hope you enjoy them.

A VERY BUSY WEEK

I knew it was going to happen. I would have bet money on it! The corn came in and we did 1050 ears in two days. Thank goodness the boys were around and we had a guest along with the regular faithful helpers. I felt sorry for our guest but that's country life. I was just glad it didn't come next week. I didn't get a picture even though Linda reminded me that we "always have a corn picture". Last week also included two doctor's appointments along with regular errands and wedding "to do's". The sprinkler system had some broken heads and I had to have that seen about; the ice maker at the barn went out and I had to make an "executive" decision about that while Ed was out of town--he did call for me to confirm it though. Ben and Sam both had "last" ballgames and I made both of them. I have signs to finish and legs to glue on the cake stand. Haleigh came with her mother and the wedding director and the kinks were worked out--hopefully. Ryan and Haleigh have been moving into their home and getting ready. I'm waiting on some UPS or FedEx deliveries, flower pickup, and tables and chairs. Enough of the work stuff!! Today we had a "Pink Party" for Charlotte, Ed's cousin who is going through breast cancer. Several of us decided to surprise her and we actually pulled it off!! She didn't have a clue. We had a wonderful morning at her daughter-in-law's home with friends. We surrounded her with prayer and fellowship--and don't leave out the wonderful brunch food!! 

charlotte arriving and being totally surprised!!

 

 

 

 

 

A group of us surrounding her to pray for her.

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the prayer Charlotte released the balloons. The wind carried them up and away!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the balloon release we all went in for a delicious brunch and the opening of gifts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charlotte's favorite thing is "JOY" so there were several things with joy on them.  She got lots of books, lotions, caps, pj's and things to help her through the next few months of getting over her surgery.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charlotte (in the middle! with her daughter in law Kristie (left) and her daughter Christy (right). Three beautiful and sweet ladies!

I took lots of pictures of every one there and will fix an album later.  I just wanted to catch you up on the "week before the week" of the wedding!!  Seven days to go!!

TWO WEEKS LEFT!!

Two weeks from yesterday we are getting a granddaughter-in-law. It's not like something new is about to happen, Haleigh has been around for three or four years and is already a part of our family. The day Ryan told us they were engaged, I was totally shocked. No one knew it was happening except for her Dad. I don't know why we were all so surprised. That was over a year ago and the time has flown by. I've enjoyed helping Haleigh with the planning of the wedding. I've had time to work on things while she went to school and worked. We've spent many hours upstairs on Thursday afternoons. I know Ryan is my grandson and not my son. But---we kept him for four years before he started kindergarden and have seen him practically every day of his life. I haven't missed a day (almost) of talking to him. Our bond is strong. I know the old saying, " a daughter is a daughter all of her life, but a son is a son until he takes a wife". Maybe a grandson is your grandson forever!!  I'm looking forward to June 11, 2011 because I get my fourth granddaughter and a whole new chapter starts at Cotton Branch!!

SPRING ARRIVING

This time of year is one of my favorite times. The flowers begin to bloom and I get very enthused about gardening.  I usually "overbuy" and have to spend a lot of time planting.  I love container plants but not necessarily the watering process they require. Sunday morning I was ready early for church and I walked around snapping some pictures of the things blooming in our yard. Love the colors!!

 

 

 

 

 

 















 

 















Hope things are this pretty when it's time for the wedding!!

 

 

 

    

 

 

A VERY NICE DAY!!

Melody invited me to attend a meeting of the Garden Club of Jackson to see Sharon McGukin of Carrollton,GA.  She was doing a design program based on her book Flowers of the Heart (a bride's guide to choosing flowers for her wedding). Since we're having a wedding this summer and I love flower design I was delighted to be invited.  I saw several garden club friends and others that I knew.  We enjoyed a delightful lunch and then went to Fresh Market for a few purchases. Here are some pictures of the program.

 

 Lovely yellow lilies, orange roses and pussy willow in a silver container.

 

 

 

  

Roses and orchids with fern.

 

 This arrangement was done on the OUTSIDE of the container. Just a few pieces of greenery were inside.  Very interesting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The yellow roses, purple iris, English dogwood and phlox are in a simple container and were picked from the "yard"--very simple and beautiful. 

This is the finished product with the orange roses and pussy willow. She used bells of Ireland, pink stock and white orchids.  The pussy willow formed a cage of sorts in the middle.

 

 









Limbs with yellow lilies, roses and ealyagnus--simple yet pretty.

























White lilies, orange gerbers, flowered branches in the coolest container.  A little "messy" for me but I love the container!

                                                                                                      

This is the finished design using the pussy willow and orange roses. She added yellow lilies and protea. 

The flower show judge came out in me because I thought some of her designs were too large for her containers--but I had to remember that I was there as an observer and it was for entertainment and for home use!!

The program was delightful and I thank Melody for inviting me.  You can never get too much of God's beauty!!

 





 

MUMC SHOWER FOR HALEIGH AND RYAN

Meadville UMC Celebration Committee hosted a lovely shower for Haleigh and Ryan on April 3. Look on the blog albums for the 2011 Shower for Haleigh and Ryan and click on it.  You can see all the pictures. Click on them to see them larger. Thank you wonderful church family for loving our children.

TOAD HOUSE GRAND OPENING/OPEN HOUSE

April 1 is not just April Fools Day! It's the Grand Opening of the Toad House! There have really been some changes going on around there lately. I went in today and lots of new booths have opened and the place is looking good!  We're fortunate to have a "neat" place like the Toad House to share our hobbies and our "stuff"!  As you come in the door Belle's Bliss greets you with this beautiful display.  Sweet Chondabelle can do everything!!  She bakes cakes and does this beautiful work!! The list is way longer and we love her.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The burp pads are two of the new ones I've added to my booth. I love the "little birdie"! 
Every girl needs a Towel Wrap!  This cute one has a smiley face sun appliqued on it with ribbons.  They can be appliqued with initials or monogrammed. The pink one has a daisy with ribbons. I've used so many ribbons I need to visit the Ribbon Jar.

What's the old saying, "be there or be square". I'm just saying~~be there or miss Nana's homemade million dollar chocolate chip cookies!!

And Rhonda doesn't pay me a thing for all this free advertising!! :)

 

 

WHEN NANA'S AWAY THE BOYS WILL PLAY!

One afternoon recently I was gone somewhere and when I returned Ed said he had something to show me.  He handed me his phone.  This is what I saw. 

He and Sam had built another bluebird house and it looked so good. 

 
Sam even used the cordless drill to hang it on the fence post.  He loves the bluebirds just like we do and loves the power tools just as much.  Thanks guys, for building another house for our birds! 

BLUEBERRY JELLY

Thanks to a breaker blowing today in the freezer room in our barn, we almost lost a lot of fruit and veggies.  Thanks to Linda and the boys who found it and called the electrician who came and fixed it. The blueberries in the door of a freezer had thawed so Linda brought them to the house and cooked them (not realizing that I would rather make jam than jelly).  When I got downstairs I had blueberry juice for days!!!  I strained it all and started making jelly.  There were only eight boxes of Surejell so I knew I would have to stop when I got through with that.  By 9:30 PM I was worn out and had 44 half pints of beautiful and delicious blueberry jelly made.  I still have three HUGE bowls of juice to finish.  As I posted on my Twitter--there will be CB Blueberry Jelly at the Toad House tomorrow.

 

I'm already thinking biscuits and butter with blueberry jelly!! Or the popovers in the new issue of MS Magazine with Blueberry butter!!  Company's coming--they'll be getting it! 
 

BEN'S FIRST TURKEY!!

Thanks to a friend of ours who loves to hunt and fish with the boys Ben got to go hunting for the Youth Turkey Hunt weekend.  It was raining like crazy but they went anyway.  I got a call early (for me on a Saturday) and he told me he'd killed a turkey.  Naturally I had to take pictures.  After all, that's a proud moment in a kids life!!   
The gobbler had about a nine inch beard and some pretty good looking spurs.  Casey was going to do a tail mount for him.  Looks like we have another "hunting addict" in the family!!  Awesome Ben! 

 

2011 CROP CELEBRATION IN HAMMOND

This past weekend nine of our "Scrapping Sisters" group traveled to Hammond, LA to a Scrapbook event to benefit the Restoration House--sort of a Crisis Pregnancy Center.  We started out by donating diapers, formula and baby outfits for this cause. It felt good to be having fun and all the proceeds to go a worthy cause!!  Every penny made this weekend went to the Restoration House. We left early on Friday (Pat, Libby and me) with the Scrapping Sisters trailer and after a stop at PJ's coffee headed south to Hammond.  Immanuel Baptist Church was the host for the crop and we had lots of space and good lighting--real pluses for croppers!!  Regina (one of the girls putting on the crop) had her mother and father in law there preparing the meals.  Talk about awesome!!  For a nominal fee we were fed like queens and didn't have to leave the building!!  Most of our group won a door prize and two of us won raffle prizes.  Several won auction items and everyone came away pleased.  Everyone worked on their own projects and we all took classes and "make and takes" at our leisure.  It was a wonderful weekend.  Here are some pictures of our group.  
Beth, Susan, Debbie, Sharon, Tammy on the back row.  Libby, Melanie, Pat and Barbara on the front row.   
Our sweet friends from Alabama--Gina and Lenore from GiGi's Scrapbooking.  We've been friends for several years and always enjoy seeing them.  

 

Another sweet friend Melanie with her daughter Bailey and one of the girls (I'm sorry I don't have her name.) who helped "put on" the event.

Laura and Ginger who were "Stampin Up" ladies. We did "make and takes" and took a class with them.  Love the 8 x 8 class!!

 

Several of us took the "Close to my Heart" make and take with Connie Arceneaux.  The picture frame was cute and easy to do.     

 

The project I'm most proud of is one that I've been wanting to do since January.  It was for a friend's birthday. I found just the right paper and embellishments thanks to Pat and Gigi.  I hope you like it Charlotte!

 I painted letters for my booth most of the weekend and we laughed that I would paint a letter and take a class; paint a letter and do a make and take; paint a letter--well you get the idea.  Anyway, it worked and I enjoyed myself.  It's always fun to be with the "sisters" and laugh and talk.  We can't wait till we can get together again.