I am Nancy Mon and this is 2020. I couldn't make it to midnight and barely made it to 10:00 pm. This morning Roy is making biscuits and Buddy has just given up begging to be let out on the front porch. It is too cold and just checked the temp, it is 36 degrees. Maybe a little later when we won't be heating the whole neighborhood, a throw back to childhood with the admonition of shutting the backdoor cause we weren't going to air condition the whole neighborhood.
Happy New Year! Thankful for another year. 2020 will mark the fifth year of living in the mountains, That is a celebratory event. I have narrowed down my choices for my One Word and should make the decision before Monday. I could never keep resolutions but the One Word gives focus. Some years the word is more memorable than others.
We spent the last day of 2019 doing something we love with people we love. Inez and Cuman picked us up and we enjoyed a day in the mountains of Madison County. We went over Doggett Mountain and made our way to Hot Springs. Roy and I have been over the mountain once, with me driving. I wasn't able to see all the views, so yesterday was great seeing everything and Cuman telling us the stories behind the different places we passed. Such a rich history, good and bad, up there in those mountains. We stopped at a church on top of the mountain to take pics and then stopped at a little prayer chapel along the side of the road. I had read an article several years ago about the three chapels that you can find in Madison County that are open everyday. So I have seen two of the three. We saw the turnoff to Max Patch. Roy and I want to go there in the spring. Beautiful place and views. We went through Trust NC and at that junction you either go right to Hot Springs or left down the mountain to Lake Juneleska. In Hot Springs we stopped at the old fashioned hardware store...they have just about everything you can think of and we went to the outfitter/trail supplies/tourist shop next door, well across the river. Of course, I found a tshirt and Roy found mints with a tiger on the front of the tin. Geaux Tigers! We had lunch at Smoky Mountain Diner and the food was delicious! The good news is, they are opening in March or April in the space that used to be the Turkey Creek Cafe. We had a nice conversation with the owner and after our delicious lunch, I say come Smoky Mountain Diner, come! After lunch we hit the road once again going to a couple of places along the river. Not crowded yesterday but in the warm months, stacked up with rafters and buses. As our day came to an end we drove through Marshall and then on lower flat creek by the day lily nursery. Great conversation, laughs and stories with our friends who have taken us in and loved us well. After spending a day hearing stories of people and the mountains I will endeavor during the next few months of our colder weather to read and re-read mountain books. Makes me a better tour guide for friends and for some friends, to be able to charge resort fees. You know who you are!
2019 is being celebrated as the year with no cardiology appointments or bad flare-ups. Only one time did I have to take the extra meds to get my heart back in rhythm this year and it was in the summer. Heat not stress being the contributor. For this I am so grateful. I remember what the cardiologists told me in the long ago, if you make it five years, that will be good. It is a miracle if you make it ten. In the eleventh year, going into twelve. God is so good!
Growing up I remember singing the hymn, The Church is One Foundation, on the first Sunday of the new year. I looked up the verses this morning...
1 The church's one foundation
is Jesus Christ, her Lord;
she is his new creation
by water and the Word:
from heav'n he came and sought her
to be his holy bride;
with his own blood he bought her,
and for her life he died.
Yet she on earth hath union
with the God the Three in One,
and mystic sweet communion
with those whose rest is won:
O happy ones and holy!
Lord, give us grace that we,
like them, the meek and lowly,
on high may dwell with thee.
These are the two verses I remember from those church days long ago....The middle verses are good too but I think we were the 1, 2 and last verse singing kind of church.
2019 is the year I began teaching full time as a Sunday School teacher. It is a joy and blessing to do so.
The biscuits this morning are so good. We had bought some bacon from The Fresh Market to go along with them. I had saved one last jar of the strawberry jam made by the lady in Roan Mountain. So although it is not a healthy breakfast, it sure was good and the way to start a new day, year and decade...on the decade I'm not too sure about cause there is dispute whether the decade has really started or not.
Welcome new year! Welcome Random Thoughts...you've been a wonderful companion for lo these many years.
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