New Additions

Our three newest, most adoreable additions were born October 10th -- when the last kittens were just a day shy of four months old.

Success

Success spelled with five letters......"Got 'im!" : )

Sometimes You Feel Like A Nut....

...so roast some!

Ray Sr. and Jr. have been working on the sheetrock on an old house, and if you've paid attention to the weather lately, you know that it's been mighty cold. It, being an old house without much insullation and no heat, is about the same temperature inside as it is outside. : ) Our old kerosene heater was a much needed blessing on the job, so they put it upstairs where they were working and cranked it up.

Ray, Jr. had bought some raw peanuts at the farmer's market and tried to roast them in the house, but it seems that Allison is allergic to them. That being the case, just suffice it to say that necessity always was the mother of invention. : )

Anyone feel like a nut?

Pecan Pickin' With A Twist

The pecans are falling, and the birds aren't the only thing that you have to beat this year!

That said, we have applied a new science to this pecan thing that most people either haven't thought of or are too timid to try........a three-man sling shot! (And, no, we're not catapulting Ray.) : )

There is no end to the laughter when you apply this method. Should we quote the old adage, "Kids, don't try this at home"? (Now you know the first thing we did as soon as we were turned loose was whatever they told us not to do.)Whatever the case, be warned ~ there are just as many bloopers as there are good, solid hits, and you never know who's watching you. It just may be the janitors at the elementary school across the road. : )

Ready.....Aim.......

...FIRE!!!

Uhhhh....Where'd it go?

Any day now, the pecans will be falling without our help, but, until then, we'll continue to use our brilliant ingenuity for the betterment (and entertainment) of all around. : )

Pecan Pickin' 101




How it's done.....

Rule # 1: When shooting over the road, look both ways to ensure that there is no oncoming traffic. Otherwise, this could be detrimental to one's well being.

Rule # 2: Before drawing back, make sure the people picking up the pecans are not in or around (or even within range) of the target area. If struck, ....well, this also could be detrimental to one's well being.

Rule # 3: To ensure lasting harmony and blissful peace, prepare a warm meal for those who had to stay out in the cold picking up the pecans that were knocked down.

....and how it's not.

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Pecans aren't the only things that are falling, and Allison enjoyed raking the leaves!


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"As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack."

II Corinthians 8:15

Fall Fun at the Farmer's Market

Are you ready to go to the Farmer's Market?

Yes! We're ready!

The trip to the Asheville farmer's market was full of beautiful scenery and, of course, lots of pictures!

The farmer's market is one of the most picturesque places with its bright colors arranged in the most interesting and eye catching way. We went mainly to get some apples and other produce in LARGE quantities. Even though we already knew who to buy from, there were plenty of other sellers vying for our business. It's the best way to get a free apple!

It was a good thing we bundled up.....it was a whopping 32 degrees!

We first went to the open air market where we got everything in bulk. There is no buying by the pound here! 40-pound boxes of sweet potatoes, 25-pound bag of onions, 55-pound bag of cabbage, a bag of peanuts, and lots of apples.




























We then made our way to the warm confines of the indoor market. Ahhhhh! The warmth! Now this was right down our alley. It was the open air market type with a flare for the artistic -- carving, jewelry, pottery, baskets, etc. There were canned goods, dairy, eggs, beans, meats.....really anything you can think of when it comes to food.



















They even had a can of dried possum! Ha! Ha! The serving suggestions: Serve on saltine crackers. Goes best with sweet potatoes, RC Cola, and a Moon Pie.

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On our way home, we stopped at the packing house of Moss Farms to pick up more apples. They didn't have all of what we wanted at the farmer's market and their farm wasn't very far.



The apple orchards went as far as the eye could see. Johnny Appleseed would have been proud. : )






There were apples, apples everywhere! In crates, in boxes, in bushels, in bags...any way you can imagine.

You can somewhat see the magnitude when you compare the crates full of apples to people and buildings.

Do we get paid for advertising? : )
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"And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good."

Genesis 1:11-12

Wild and Wonderful West Virginia

It's travelin' time again! Our destination? Vienna, West Virginia. That's right....Wild and Wonderful West Virginia. Some claim it's almost heaven, and looking at the beauty everywhere you almost have to believe them.

Our long rides are rather enjoyable, packed full of the things we love to do the most but don't always have time for: reading, crocheting, knitting, taking lots of pictures, and........sleeping! (boy! that's a no-brainer! : )

It was such a blessing to fellowship with the dear people at The Independent Baptist church during their Sunday services. The Lord allowed us to minister to them with our music, and Ray, Sr. had the opportunity to preach and share the burden God has placed on our hearts for Bladen County, NC.

For lunch, Pastor May and his wife took us to Tim's Old-Fashioned Rootbeer Restaurant. It was a neat little place with all kinds of old rootbeer signs hanging on the walls and the good food a chain restaurant just can't seem to match.

As a general rule for the past couple of years, we have been in West Virginia for the first and last snowfall of the year, and this trip didn't disappoint us. IT SNOWED!!!!

...and snowed, and snowed, and snowed. : ) Sadly, we had to leave before it could accumulate too much.

Hmmmm....I wonder if it snows in heaven -- or is that why West Virginia is only almost heaven...?

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"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."

James 1:17