End of November

Well here it is, the end of November.  December will be here in two days.  Hard to believe.

Elaina cooked a great Thanksgiving meal for the two of us.  She made a wonderful cranberry sauce this year that had crushed pineapple in it.  It was so good!  We made soup with the leftover turkey.  

Our weather has been very different this fall.  First we had very warm days earlier in November and since then some cold days and a few freezes over night.  We wake up to see the lawns covered in white. However, today has been another weird day.  It's in the 70's, very humid and windy.  We have been very concerned about the fires in the western part of the state and in TN and have hoped
that moister air would help, and some rain, but the wind would definitely not help. News from that area today is not good.  So sad.

Because of the warm weather, the trees didn't start changing color at their usual time.  Now, everywhere you look, the trees have reds, yellows, and orange colors.  So pretty.  But it's also starting to look a little "bare" since the leaves are really starting to fall.  The only ones keeping the forest looking like forest are the pines (and there's a lot of pines!)  

Over our back fence

across the street

Today I had breakfast at Cracker Barrel with my Life Group ladies. It's the last meeting until the new semester starts.  Then I went to the USO and helped decorate for Christmas.

I helped with these two areas, but there was a lot more decorating going on.  There was at least 5 trees being decorated at the same time.  






After that I drove over to the church to pick up our tickets for the Christmas program. They are free tickets, but you have to have them ahead of time or you may not get to go, since the congregation is so big.  There's several showings but still, you have to have your reservation. 

I'm still selling on Etsy, with a sale or two every month.  Looking for a job of course. Still don't know what will be happening, but I"m trusting that God has something for me.  Most jobs I've had in the past came from "word of mouth" rather than just applying all over the place.  Hoping that happens soon.

Light Sisters' Retreat 2016

Well, Light Sisters' Retreat ended on Saturday with a trip to the Jacksonville airport.  So sad to see it end!

We had a great time shopping for antiques and enjoying the beautiful Eastern North Carolina countryside and the great beaches and state parks.  Thanks to Elaina, we didn't have any trouble finding where to go and how to get there.  

One of the highlights last week, was a visit and tour of Marine Corps Air Station New River, where Elaina is a Family Readiness Officer.  We met and shook hands with her Commanding Officer and the Sergeant Major of HMH 366, helicopter squadron, the Hammerheads. 

Aviation Memorial out front at New River

We always hope for cool Fall-like weather, every retreat, however usually in California, we have warm-to-hot weather in October, our usual month.

So, this year, we figured being in Eastern North Carolina, in November, SURELY we would have cool Fall-like weather.  Uh, Eastern North Carolina had the warmest November 1st since 1950!!!  Sorry sisters!  I tried.  

On Friday, we planned on taking a ferry to Cape Lookout, which neither Elaina, nor I had done before.  There's a lighthouse there, and a great place to go shelling, and to see the wild horses.  We drove an hour and a half to get to the ferry, in the rain, believing that the rain was supposed to stop by 10 a.m.  We were told at the ferry that the rain wouldn't be stopping anytime soon, and the wind was going to be so strong that the ferry wouldn't be running in the afternoon.  So disappointing to have to cancel that adventure, but we were given a refund on our ferry ride.  Maybe next time.

I found several items in the antique stores that were low-priced enough that I can list them for a higher price in my Etsy shop:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/PicketfencesVintage?ref=hdr_shop_menu

I think we all had a good time, including the non-Light Sister, brother-in-law Ron.  We have good restaurants in the area and we tried several of them!  He got to have some fresh seafood.

So thankful that my sisters (and Ron) were willing to come here to see me and find out why I love it so much.  Thankful for Elaina's willingness to be tour guide extraordinaire!