Holly Shelter Fire

What looks like a cloud is actually the smoke from the fire. I’m wondering if it was caused by a particular wind pattern, or if it’s something from what the firefighters are doing.

Closer View of the Smoke

For some reason our crazy cat, Cali, decided to climb onto a fence near our house & jump onto the roof our house. She seems quite content up there…which is good, as I do not have a ladder to get her down, nor am I calling the Fire Dept to come & get her down.

[Our] friends that rescued [jModule] from a tree to get said cat, currently live in [Africa]. I’m not sure where their ladder is. We should have offered to keep it in storage for them while they are overseas!

I hope I was able to give you a laugh for the day!

Walking the Roof

Taking it all in

[I had] to chuckle. As CE was waiting for her snack, said, I can call 9-1-1. Where’s the 9?” MD shows her on the phone–CE then says, “Where’s the 1? You call 9-1-1 for an emergency. That’s what my teacher says.” She knows what to call–but not how to call it!! Hope I never need her to call due to an emergency!

Pirate Land

We arrived at the campground at about 2:00 in the afternoon and soon had the camper set up. When everything was set up we went over to the condo for the afternoon.

Camp Site

Thanksgiving morning the girls really wanted to swim in one of the pools. Although they were willing to brave the outdoor “lazy river,” I said we would go to the indoor pool since it was heated. It turned out to be a good choice. They had a lot of fun swimming and jumping in. They even made a new friend.

She’s Wearing “Gobbles”

The Indoor Pool

We did try to get out and enjoy stomping in puddles. Other than on Tuesday when it was too windy, we put on boots and got our umbrellas and headed out.

Fancy Umbrellas

Tryon Palace

Girls in the Gate

In the Gate House

We purchased the garden pass, so we spent most of our time walking the paths. The girls really enjoyed exploring the more formal gardens with their walls and bricked paths. Zuni took a lot of pictures of the flowers.

Going into the Gardens

Sharing secrets

The garden pass also included the Kitchen Office, where the servants used to be quartered and most of the cooking for the Governor was done. We had almost a private tour of the office, kitchen, laundry, and bedrooms. Probably the most interesting part was talking to the guide in the kitchen. She was cooking lunch in the wood fireplace, an actual sausage and rice dish that would have been cooked back in the 18th century. She told us about what the people would eat, and how the servants at the mansion were better fed, and better educated, than most of the town folk. A lot of the people of that time wanted to have their sons and daughters hired by the governor.

Snowing Friday Night

The next morning the yard was covered with a nice white blanket. I was surprised how much snow we got. My guess was that it was around 4 or 5 inches, but there were places that were 7 inches deep.

The Back Yard

The pets were almost as excited as the girls. The cat wasn’t sure at first, but her curiosity overcame her hesitation. The dog was already running and jumping around.

Cat in the Shed

The girls went outside as soon as they could get dressed after breakfast. We played in the snow for a while, building snowmen, throwing snowballs, and making snow angels. First MD went inside to warm up, and eventually CE got cold too. So as one was going in the other was coming out. Meanwhile Zuni was going around and taking pictures of the snow.

Looking Down our Street

Before everyone went in, our neighbor came over from across the street. She and her sister had told the girls that they would help make a snowman, and so they made a little one in the front yard.

We Enjoyed the Snow

Not to worry, CE had the solution, “If Daddy gets fired, a fire truck will come, and he’ll be saved.”

Christmas Cat

She got a new colar this Christmas, but promptly licked it and caused the top to fray some. But even if it’s not as pretty as when we first put it on, the little bell still helps us find her now.