star

She squealed, "Oh, Momma, look at this cool star!" when we opened the box of ornaments.  It lay among the fancy store bought ones, but what brought joy to her three year old heart was a card board star.  It was painted red and sprinkled with gold glitter years ago by one of the grown Ponderosa princesses.  Just a reminder to us all that its the simple things. . .

8

Today is Parker's 8th birthday.  He is smart, funny, a math whiz and friendly.  He loves to play video games and ride his four wheeler and bicycle.  He's a good reader and likes chapter books.  He likes to do science experiments and is fascinated by the Titanic. One of his favorite video games is Mindcraft.  I don't understand it, but he likes to tell me about it!  On Saturday he celebrated by having a pool party with his friends and cousins.  Ninja Turtles was the party theme he picked.  After school today he was going to Chuck E Cheese to continue the celebration!  Happy Birthday to Parker!

family pictures

The photos from our annual family photo shoot arrived this week.  Jennifer Potter always makes us look good and captures some treasures for us.  Here's a few of my favorites. . .

granny lerion's birthday week

Last week we celebrated Mom's 81st birthday.  Her birthday is November 13, but she started the week end before with a party with Brynn, Brooks and Bailee.  They love a good celebration, so we had a party with a turkey dinner, presents, cupcakes and fun and games.

 

I made dressing to go with our turkey dinner.  It was my first attempt and although it was deemed not as good as Pa Lyle's, it was tasty.

Cornbread Dressing 

3 eggs
3 cups self-rising cornmeal
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil or bacon drippings
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon sage
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 to 3 cups turkey broth

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Mix the first four ingredients together and pour into a well greased 12-inch skillet.  Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.  Crumble cornbread into a large bowl.  Add celery, onion, sage and black pepper to crumbled cornbread.  Stir in 2 or more cups of broth from turkey or just enough to moisten.  Pour into well-greased 9 x 13 inch glass dish  and bake until golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes.  Makes 10 to 12 servings.

On Saturday afternoon Brooks and Brynn also took Granny Lerion on some golf cart races.  On Monday Granny Lerion, Pa Lyle and Jack and Mildred had an entire day full of adventures going to Bread of Life Cafe, The Mighty Dollar, The Menonnite produce market (for popcorn and fruit), Haney's Apple Farm in Nancy, KY and shopping in Somerset.

Thursday (Nov 13)  it was cold and snowy but that didn't stop us from going to Crossville to see Inherit the Wind at the Cumberland County Playhouse, then a big birthday lunch at Ryan's and shopping at the Outlet Mall.

Friday Granny Lerion and I went to Santa's Workshop (an annual craft show in Cookeville), had lunch with Katie and did a little shopping at Khol's and Hobby Lobby.

I think Granny enjoyed all the great birthday celebrations this week!

 

waterfalls

When the weather people predicted a high of 68 today we decided to continue our regional waterfall tour.  We headed for Spencer, Tennessee and Fall Creek Falls State Park.  Fall Creek Falls is the highest waterfall east of the Mississippi River.

 

 We started to hike to the base which is less than .5 miles but it was so steep we turned back and took the scenic drive to Piney Falls.

 We made pictures of the other people at the Piney Falls Overlook and then they made some for us! I was really nervous about standing on this rock with my back turned to the CLIFF!

Piney Falls

There is a very long suspension bridge at the top of Piney Falls.  I could not cross it, but I did step out far enough to take this photo, with one hand of course because I can't let go of the cable.  Swinging bridges make me nervous too. (The spots where you could plunge to your death along this trail also made me nervous. I would not want to take children here.)

Climbing rocks makes us hungry so we headed for the Inn in search of lunch. We enjoyed a very good cheeseburger and roast beef sandwich.

This was the view from our table.

After admiring the lake and the fishing cabins and villas, we headed toward home stopping in Sparta and Cookeville to gather a few supplies.

 

It was a great November day to spend outside and in this picturesque place.