Christmas Countdown - 2016

[mgramsey]

We are okay! We live about 1.5 hrs. south of PF & Gatlinburg. DH's BIL is a local firefighter & had to go up there around noon today to help out. The core of Gatlinburg seems to be okay, but everything around it is gutted. People here are devastated. I'm wondering if the hotel where we spent our honeymoon is gone...;

We got our first real rain last night since July. However, the high winds didn't help with the fires. The next town south of us is in the mountains & had another fire last night. We've been living with smoky smells inside our house for the past couple of weeks from all the wildfires that dummy's are setting on purpose. We live in the woods and if anyone drove by our house and threw out a cigarette butt, our whole property would go down in flames. It's supposed to rain again tonight so that should help. It will be a long time before anyone around here complains about rain!

On a brighter note, we got all our trees & decor up over the weekend. I did a lot of Christmas shopping before work this morning. Before that, only a few Santa gifts & two other gifts had been purchased. I was starting to panic, since I usually like to have all my shopping done & gifts wrapped before Thanksgiving. I hope to get more shopping done this weekend & try to get close to finished.

Glad to hear y'all are ok. We live near Fontana Dam in NC. As the crow flies, we are about 40 miles from Gatlinburg but there is no direct route. It is about 1.5 hr drive for us also. We have had lots of smoke too.

 

[Holiday]

Glad to hear y'all are ok. We live near Fontana Dam in NC. As the crow flies, we are about 40 miles from Gatlinburg but there is no direct route. It is about 1.5 hr drive for us also. We have had lots of smoke too.

Continued prayers you all stay safe. Sure hope the rain helps! xx

 

[Bradmac]

We are okay! We live about 1.5 hrs. south of PF & Gatlinburg. DH's BIL is a local firefighter & had to go up there around noon today to help out. The core of Gatlinburg seems to be okay, but everything around it is gutted. People here are devastated. I'm wondering if the hotel where we spent our honeymoon is gone...;

We got our first real rain last night since July. However, the high winds didn't help with the fires. The next town south of us is in the mountains & had another fire last night. We've been living with smoky smells inside our house for the past couple of weeks from all the wildfires that dummy's are setting on purpose. We live in the woods and if anyone drove by our house and threw out a cigarette butt, our whole property would go down in flames. It's supposed to rain again tonight so that should help. It will be a long time before anyone around here complains about rain!

On a brighter note, we got all our trees & decor up over the weekend. I did a lot of Christmas shopping before work this morning. Before that, only a few Santa gifts & two other gifts had been purchased. I was starting to panic, since I usually like to have all my shopping done & gifts wrapped before Thanksgiving. I hope to get more shopping done this weekend & try to get close to finished.

We are ok. The 2 fires in our county were about 5 miles from us and are now contained. Still numerous ones burning in WNC and east Tennessee. The Gatlinburg fire is horrible. Over 100 homes lost. You can see the glow of the fire from a ridge above us.

I'm glad you both are ok!

 

[Bradmac]

Good Wednesday afternoon, Christmas friends!

I was out of the office all morning. Mama and I took her pecans to market this morning, and it took forever. But she got a great price, and pecans are finally behind us for another few months!

I hope y'all have a great day!

 

[Bradmac]

Good Morning/Afternoon christmas friends...Hope everyone is having a merry day so far....Its another cold day here today Brrrrrrrrr....Its been a day to remember today i was shopping in the supermarket earlier and a lady colapsed in front of me so i was lucky enough to know my first aid...I did do CPR till the ambulance came to support her...Enjoy the rest of your day christmas buddies

It's great that you were there and knew what to do!!

 

[Holiday]

Good Wednesday afternoon, Christmas friends!

I was out of the office all morning. Mama and I took her pecans to market this morning, and it took forever. But she got a great price, and pecans are finally behind us for another few months!

I hope y'all have a great day!

Good afternoon Brad!

Glad to hear she got a good price for her pecans & they are behind you for a few months!!

Enjoy the rest of your day!!!

 

[Holiday]

Everyone, have a fabulous evening! See you at the Pines!!!

 

[Bradmac]

Anybody planning to watch Christmas At Rockefeller Center tonight? I'm hoping to at least catch the lighting of the tree!

We'll be watching Dolly Parton's "Circle of Love", the sequel to "Coat of Many Colors".

 

[Bradmac]

And now we have tornadoes...; The alarms on our phones woke us up around 1:00 a.m. this morning. We were under a tornado watch until this morning. The county just south of us had a tornado & a group of businesses were demolished with damage to a subdivision of homes as well. The county just south of that one has two fatalities. Back to the Gatlinburg fires, DH's BIL is still there working (firefighter) & found out that his sister's house was one of the ones destroyed. She said it happened so fast, they grabbed the dog & got out. We're still getting rain here, but now the ground won't hold the water & trees will start falling over if the wind keeps up.

Seems like it's one thing or another all the time.

So sorry to hear about that.

 

[snowflake22]

Good evening MMC! Is it really December tomorrow?! The girls are so excited to be opening their advent calendars in the morning!

I managed to get most of my decorating done on Sunday, I keep adding bits here and there! I bought some more window lights aswell today, I love them! I bought the girls a Christmas craft set to make Christmas paper chains to decorate their bedrooms.

Going to have a catch up around the forums, I hope you all have a great day!

Nice to see you, Claire~
I bet your home looks beautiful!
Hope the girls have fun with their Advent calendars! I love that tradition.
Have a wonderful Pines Night!

And now we have tornadoes...; The alarms on our phones woke us up around 1:00 a.m. this morning. We were under a tornado watch until this morning. The county just south of us had a tornado & a group of businesses were demolished with damage to a subdivision of homes as well. The county just south of that one has two fatalities. Back to the Gatlinburg fires, DH's BIL is still there working (firefighter) & found out that his sister's house was one of the ones destroyed. She said it happened so fast, they grabbed the dog & got out. We're still getting rain here, but now the ground won't hold the water & trees will start falling over if the wind keeps up.

Seems like it's one thing or another all the time.

So sorry to hear about BIL's sisters home. So glad they all made it out safely.
Praying for you all, stay safe.
(((Hugs)))

Thanks Snowflake22...Just glad i was in the right place at the right time...Have a Merry evening ahead buddy

You're welcome, buddy~
Thanks, hope you have a blessed and merry night too!

I forgot about Rudolph until 8:30 - I flipped it on but was making trips up & down the steps for decorations, so didn't get to sit & watch. I bet it will be on again! Ha ha!

I bet it will, too!

My fingers are crossed for you! A dreary day once in awhile is good, but for a long period gets so depressing!!
Our sky has been SO odd today!!

Thanks! Agreed!!

Everyone, have a fabulous evening! See you at the Pines!!!

Thanks, Holiday~
Hope you have a great Pines night, too.
See you soon!

 

[Crown 84]

Anybody planning to watch Christmas At Rockefeller Center tonight? I'm hoping to at least catch the lighting of the tree!

I am. Always watch it every year. Love those annual recurring Christmas Specials.
REALLY miss "Christmas in Washington" which had run every year since 1982 but was cancelled last year.
(In case anyone else is interested, Christmas in Rockefeller Center will air at 8:00 tonight, eastern time, on NBC.)

 

[mike24forever]

I am. Always watch it every year. Love those annual recurring Christmas Specials.
REALLY miss "Christmas in Washington" which had run every year since 1982 but was cancelled last year.
(In case anyone else is interested, Christmas in Rockefeller Center will air at 8:00 tonight, eastern time, on NBC.)

I'm watching it as well. It's an exciting night tonight, with omorrow being the first day of December.

 

[MerryCarey]

I'm watching, too.

 

[Crown 84]

It was pretty good this year. Better than last year's, I thought.
Enjoyed the majority of the performances.

 

[HomemakinGirl]

Absolutely gorgeous! You have a show home!!!

Thank you so much!

Thank you! She ate all her food today & she's a wild one! So thankful!

You're welcome & I'm glad to hear that. Please give Gracie a hug from Maggie and I <3

Oh my gosh! So darn cute!!!
I'm glad to read Maggie is doing better!!! Always continued prayers!

Thanks again Holiday!
Sending prayers back your way ~
xx

 

[HomemakinGirl]

Beautiful!!!

Thank you Xmas!

 

[HomemakinGirl]

Thank you! I'm still not 100% and I have a feeling Carolina is starting to get sick. She has been kind of hoarse for a few days and she just woke up crying for me but wasn't awake.

Sending up prayers for the both of you, feel better.
xx

 

[HomemakinGirl]

Another beautiful section of your house HMG!

Too cute! Looks like it was made for Bella, perfect fit.

Thank you so much Martine!
xx

 

[xmas365]

Hang in there. You're going to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree! Keep your eyes on the prize!

Just 10 days away from that.

 

[nmc42088]

Such a great idea for a bracelet. Especially when working with customers who are not always so kind.

Thanks Martine! I also put it with Carolina's birth stone as a reminder to teach her to show kindness.

Hope Carolina was able to go back to sleep and is feeling ok this morning. Everyone seems to be getting sick lately.

Thank you! She stayed in her own bed til 5 am and then needed to lay with me.

You're welcome, HmG~
I'm glad to hear that she's doing much better this week. Hope her stomach has settled.

Thanks so much <3



So cute!!
xo


Prayers being sent up for the both of you, Natalie~
Take good care!

Thanks snowflake Hope you are well too.

And now we have tornadoes...; The alarms on our phones woke us up around 1:00 a.m. this morning. We were under a tornado watch until this morning. The county just south of us had a tornado & a group of businesses were demolished with damage to a subdivision of homes as well. The county just south of that one has two fatalities. Back to the Gatlinburg fires, DH's BIL is still there working (firefighter) & found out that his sister's house was one of the ones destroyed. She said it happened so fast, they grabbed the dog & got out. We're still getting rain here, but now the ground won't hold the water & trees will start falling over if the wind keeps up.

Seems like it's one thing or another all the time.

Praying you all can stay safe. I am so sorry to hear about your bil's sisters home. Sending prayers for them as well