Happy 100th Birthday, Fuzzy!

I have never known anyone who reached their 100th birthday. I know this is quite common - at least if you watch Willard Scott announce centenarian birthdays on the NBC Today Show. But, REALLY - I have never known anyone personally who reached this impressive achievement - until, Ruby Haynes, aka "Fuzzy". What's even more special is that she was my mom's best friend and 1st cousin. My mom would have also been 100 years old this year.

Now, this isn't just any 100-year old. First of all, does she really look like she's 100? You might guess 80. How many people still ride their bicycles (3-wheelers) at 100 years of age? Or even 80 years of age, for that matter? And, how many pills do you take each day if you are over the age of 60? For myself, I take 3 (including a "baby aspirin"), and I consider myself healthy. Fuzzy takes 1 pill per day. When asked what her secret was for living so well and so long, she talked about eating well and staying active - can't get away from the diet and exercise routine! Boring, I guess, but face it, it's worked for her.

We had a great party - two parties, actually - on Saturday and Sunday. So many relatives I haven't seen in years came in for this celebration and to pay tribute to this remarkable woman. She still attends church every Sunday, so part of the celebration was a covered dish dinner after church services in one of the local elementary schools. There was plenty of time for sharing stories and memories and many spoke of the impact Fuzzy had on their lives. The principal of the elementary school was in the Brownie Troop Fuzzy led and many remember her from Ruby's Kindergarten.

Fuzzy started a kindergarten after World War II because she believed children needed a head start - and this was years before the Head Start program was even thought about. She loved to teach and put herself through college in order to realize her life ambition.

As I write this, I am reminded of the women in my life who have paved the way for my generation of women to achieve what we have been able to achieve. In the 6th chapter of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament I find the phrase "We drink from wells we did not dig.." Surely Fuzzy and my mom and other women who surrounded me dug these wells from which I so freely drink today. And, I am grateful, as this year comes to a close, and I think I have just discovered my New Year's resolution - "Keep digging those wells!!"

Stairway to Heaven

Whew! It's been a fast and furious December. My blogging habits have definitely taken a big backslide. I'll try to post more frequently this week and catch up on all the happenings.

We have so many beautiful outdoor spots here and we have been in the process of making it more user friendly. The first floor deck is now completed, thanks to our friend and semi-professional carpenter Lee. I can't wait for the first spring days now! We should have plenty of room for cookouts looking out over the gorge.

For the last two weeks, we have watched our stone staircase take shape from the upper parking lot down to the front door and then around the house to the new deck and continuing on down to the point. Our visitors can now park on the upper lot and walk down the stone staircase without having to hop over roots and overgrowth. In the spring this path will be lined with pink and white mountain laurel - should be breathtaking!

I hope all of you have had a wonderful holiday season and that you have had time to spend with those you love and care for.

Let It Snow!!

It's winter here on the mountain. We awoke this morning to snow on our third floor deck and it has continued to snow all morning. Are we in Montana??


The Cumberland Mountains continue to dazzle us with year round beauty. No sooner had the leaves fallen off the trees, the snow arrived. Now, we aren't sitting on the deck watching the sunset, but we have enough windows all around that we can enjoy this beauty from the comfort and warmth of our own living room, or bedroom, or just wherever.


The little chickadees are still here and were all over the feeder this morning. Most of the migratory birds, like the "snowbirds", are gone south. We still have a few species around - the Tufted Titmouse and the Nuthatch.




Oh... and one more thing, we are building yet another deck. Our good friend, Lee, who is quite a carpenter, is building the deck for us on the ground floor. This is the first step in the landscaping design. The deck is just 5 steps down toward the point; then the path to the point leaves from this new deck all the way out to the point of our lot. The boulders are already here and the work on this project will begin as soon as weather permits. The idea is to have all this work done by spring so that we will have yet another beautiful outdoor space to enjoy.