Linda & David

It seems that David and I never have photos of just the two of us together. I am usually the photographer and seldom make it into photos. During this trip we managed to get several photos of just the two of us. So...here you go...

The Cabin in the Mountains

As I have mentioned before, we rented a cabin in the north Georgia mountains to spend the Christmas holidays. It ended up being just perfect for us. The home was nice and heavily decorated with antiques. The weather wasn't always good (we had a lot of rain) but we did have a couple of nice days. Below are a few photos of the exterior of the cabin. The back deck was amazing with a view that was breathtaking.

looking at the back side of the house from a distance thru the woods

the front of the cabine with its picket fence and red tin roof

the deck and furniture and hot tub

another view of the deck

the gas fire pit on the deck

Buddha Board

My daughter gave me a Buddha Board for Christmas. I had never heard of them before but I love the concept and it very well may be the most used gift in the house over the holidays. Here is what the box said about it: Buddha Board is based on the Zen concept of living in the moment. You simply paint on the surface with water and your creation will come to life in bold design. Then, as the water slowly evaporates, your art will magically disappear leaving you with a clean slate and a clear mind - ready to create a whole new masterpiece. Buddha Board is also environmentally friendly and will last for years with proper care. Allow yourself to “let go” and not be concerned with each outcome - live for the moment and enjoy! I believe everyone in the family took a turn or two using it randomly and I loved all the messages and drawings.

my father-in-law, Joe, taking a turn at the Buddha Board

Buzzards

On the high rocky cliffs where we spent the holidays there were a large group of buzzards that amazed us. We watched them each day and took some nice photos. Below are a few of my favorite ones, all made with Jamie's super nice camera.

Family Time at the Park

On Christmas day we took a drive to the state park and walked around taking in the scenery and posing for a family photo. Too bad we didn't get the doggies in the picture too... they were there with us.

Jordan, Jamie, David, Linda, Lou and Joe

The Gals

The girls take their turn mugging for the camera.

Lou, Jamie and Linda.

My Babes

Just some random photos of Jamie and Jordan over the holidays.

Happy Birthday Lou!

David's mother, Lou, had a birthday while we were all together. December 24 was the special day and she turned 73. Jamie and I had purchased a big birthday cookie and candles and we all sang happy birthday to her and she blew out the candles and opened her gifts. It was a nice little celebration. Here's the birthday girl.

Cloudland Canyon State Park

On Christmas day we traditionally go see a movie. This year the movie theaters were too far away or the movies were not playing until the night time hours so we opted to take a drive to a state park and walk around and take in the scenery. Below are a couple of photos of a double water fall in the park.

Our Girls

We each brought our doggies with us for the holidays. Below is Jordan's dog Sasha (the largeset dog), Lou and Joe's dog, Lotus Blossom (the smallest dog) and our baby, Millenni (the middle size dog). It was always difficult to get the three of them looking at the camera or even in the same direction for a photo but the two below are as good as we have been able to get. They are all so sweet and just adorable!

We Three Kings

The three men of the family enjoyed eating lunch on the deck overlooking the beautiful scenic valley below on Christmas day.

Jordan, Joe and David

O Christmas Tree

We have had a wonderful Christmas here in the mountains. Here is a photo of our tree taken from upstairs looking down. Hopefully when we get home I will be able to blog more, for now our internet connection is so poor that I can't write much or post many photos so these will have to do for now.

the stockings were hung and waiting for Santa to fill

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Hatcher family!

Lou, Joe, David, Linda, Jamie and Jordan and the doggies, Millenni, Sasha and Lotus Blossom

Gum Drop Bottom

So last night right after dinner I was in the kitchen loading the dishwasher when I heard giggling coming from the dining room table. David, Jamie and Jordan were still sitting at the table talking but suddenly their voice levels dropped and the giggles became louder. I knew something was up but didn't have a clue as to what it was. I asked once but was told it was nothing. That of course meant it was really something involving me. They finally let me in on it. I had a red gum drop stuck to my bottom. How funny! Jordan had grabbed the camera and taken a photo before they let me in on the funny episode. I think one of the dogs had gotten the gum drop and licked it because all the sugar coating was gone off of it and it was pretty sticky. It must have been on the sofa where I had been sitting earlier and I was the lucky one to sit on it. Here is the photo! It certainly provided a lot of laughter for the evening.

A Mountain Christmas

We are in the north Georgia mountains for the holidays with family. David and I rented a nice house overlooking the valley below in the Lookout Mountain area. We are right where Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee meet. We left yesterday morning and had rain most of the 5 hours of driving time. The house is magnificent and the view is awesome. We got in the hot tub last night and thoroughly enjoyed the evening after the drive and unloading. We got the Christmas tree in place and decorated and lit. We had another day of fun in the hot tub today and there will be many more I am certain. Jordan has his dog, Sasha, here and we also have Millenni with us. David’s parents will join us on Tuesday and they will be bringing their little doggie, Lotus Blossom so we will have lots of furry creatures in the house. We all love the house and all it has to offer and couldn’t have found a better one. Today it has been sunny but here on this the winter solstice it is very cold and breezy. My internet service is not all that great. It comes and goes and is pretty slow but at least we do have it. Below are a few photos from last night and this morning.

This is our Christmas tree all decorated with gifts underneath. We bought a tree and brought it along with us to decorate.

This is the view from the deck of the house. It is awesome!

Linda and Jamie enjoy the hot tub!!!

Gingerbread Houses at the Grove Park Inn

Each year during the holidays the Grove Park Inn located in Asheville, NC has a huge display of gingerbread houses. These are judged and winners selected. I have seen these on TV shows such as Good Morning America over the years but this is the first time we have actually gone and seen them in person. What a delight! It is free and so much fun. David and I spent a good part of the day there yesterday, taking in all the gingerbread houses and the spectacular mountain views from the balconies. Below I have embedded a slide show to show you some of my favorites as well as the grand prize winner... the carosel gingerbread. This is only a very small sampling of all the gingerbread houses on display. I think my favorite one was the country cupboard gingerbread. We were totally blown away by all we saw. Anyone in the area should definitely plan to visit. It's free, fun and you will be in awe. Enjoy the slideshow below.

Old Grandpa Heron

Something caught my eye on Saturday morning when I glanced out the kitchen window. I did a double take then had to grab the binoculars to see what it was. My first guess was a great blue heron but something was quiet different about this one. Firstly he was not in the water but instead he was on the bank near the lake edge. Secondly there was something very white and bushy like a long beard flowing in the breeze. Once I took a peek thru the binoculars I knew it was indeed a heron but he certainly looked different than all the others I have seen. I don't know if this one was a male or a female but because of the beard I thought him to be male. I don't know if this is a winter time feathering or if he keeps the beard year round but he sure was a pretty thing. Of course I grabbed my camera and took pictures. He stayed in the same spot for several hours and then he was gone. He looks quite plumped up as you can see in the photo below so he may have been sleeping. He was standing on one leg for most of the time. What an interesting sight. I've seen tons of heron but I never get tired of seeing them and each time it is something that causes me to stop and give pause and just enjoy a few moments watching.

Update: I just had a thought... maybe this was Santa Heron. You never know, with that long white beard he does resemble Santa!

The Twins - Hannah & Anna

Our grand daughter, Hannah spent the weekend with us and we let her go ahead and open the Christmas gifts we got for her. I had ordered her a special twin doll, made to look like her. Her name is Anna and Hannah was thrilled with her. We sure fit a lot into our weekend and had a lot of fun. She watched some old home movies and got to see her dad when he was a young boy and she laughed and enjoyed that a lot. I taught her how to do latch hook rug making and she picked it right up and worked on it all weekend, doing such a good job. Below are a few photos I took of Hannah with her twin, Anna.

Bird Question

On an early Sunday morning a couple of weeks ago I was sitting in the living room working on a project when I heard a very loud noise. David had just left to go buy a newspaper and the noise I heard sounded like something large had hit the RV. When I say large, I mean large, at first I thought a car had hit the RV. I jumped up to look out a window to see what it was and what I saw was a bird the flew from the top of the RV over to the neighbors yard. I couldn't believe my eyes and wanted to take a picture of it. I was afraid it would fly away before I could grab my camera so I just looked at it for a minute or two. I was able to get my camera and take numerous photos of it thru the window. I then decided to go outside and see if I could get better pictures but as I walked out the door it flew up into a tree but I was able to get even more photos of it up in the tree. It was a large bird, a hawk is my best guess. It wasn't as large as an eagle or turkey but it was larger than most birds I see. Below are a couple of photos, one showing the front and the other showing the back side of the bird. Anyone know for sure what bird this is? Please let me know if you do. I have not seen it since.

From a distance the coloring was sort of like a cross between a robin and a bluejay although it was much larger than either of those birds. It was a pretty shade of blue grey with a reddish color breast. Notice the feet, they were large with talons.

The eyes appeared to be red. He stayed up in the tree for a very long time, keeping a keen eye on me the entire time. He was still there when I decided to go back inside. It was an awesome sight to see and totally unexpected.