Daffodils in January???

I was a little shocked to see my daffy's so close to blooming!  It's early isn't it??  And it's not even been warm this winter so far at all!

Edit -  since I was curious, I searched my blog for other "daffy" posts....and found a similar post several years ago on Jan 15th.....so I guess it's not so odd!

A little work on the Avion

I know, you're not checking the Avion Blog because it's been so long since any thing new was there.....

So go look now!   The Avion  

Do-it-yourself 5' plastic folding poker table cover

We've been playing cards on a regular white plastic 5' round table folding table from Lowe's. I have been using a black polyester tablecloth - which worked fine but eventually got little "pills" on it. And it would slide off the edge sometimes. So, I was looking for a better solution..... I ordered some 72" wide cloth from Ebay. It's a little hard to find since most cloth is 60" wide at the most.

Here it is just draped over the table.

I wanted a fitted look....so I used the black table cloth as a pattern.

And just free-hand cut the green cloth.  Not too terribly important to be accurate since the fitted look will be done with a drawstring taking up any slack.

I just sewed a little pocket all the way around the circumference of the cloth.  Boy, a 6' circle is a LONG way to sew!

Here is the underside of the table with the cover "cinched".

And here is the finished product.  I think we'll like it!

Flight to the western tip of NC!

Remember this lovely airplane?  The Piper Cub that Richard and Miranda had as a  backdrop for some of their wedding shots -

Sorry, not a great copy of the photo, but you get the idea.....

Well, it is apparently time for Dick to have the 30 yr old fabric replaced.  (The airplane itself is a 1945 model!!)

So, he made an appointment with a shop that operates at the Andrews Murphy airport (also known as the Western Carolina Regional Airport)

Today was the day.....so Dick left at about 8am (the Cub flies at 80 knots - we fly at about 160 knots).  We left at noon to go pick him up.

Beautiful but a little hazy.

In the edge of SC getting ready to climb up over the mountains.

Natahala reservior.  Pretty.

Approaching the airport.  You see it don't you??

 There it is.....

Much easier to see now......

We got some fuel and picked up Dick....he rode in the back - an unusual position for him  since he's usually pilot-in-command!  A nice little trip!  (I flew the return leg - and had plenty of "front and back-seat pilots" letting me know how it should be done, haha!)

Helicopter

Not a lot going on - nice to have some sunshine though!!!

The Charlotte Med 1 helicopter called yesterday asking if I'd stay a little late at Siler City so they could pick up some jet fuel.  They had dropped a patient at UNC Chapel Hill hospital and needed some extra fuel to be able to make it back to Charlotte.

Gas

Just couldn't resist taking a photo of the gas price in Asheboro!!   $1.98!!

McCraw family holiday party (the After-Christmas-Xmas-Party)

This year, the McCraw clan went back to the beach for our yearly get-together.

Destination - Cherry Grove Beach, just north of Myrtle Beach.

A few nice walks on the nearby beach.  Chilly the first two days, but warm the last two.

Just relaxing with Kevin and Granny.

Of course there was a puzzle....

More beach pictures....

Robert drove down for Saturday and Sunday.....he beat me in a couple of games of pool.....and I beat him once because he scratched on his 8-ball shot!!

The finished puzzle!!!  Chugga, chugga, chugga, whoooo, whooo!

Beautiful day for beachcombing!

ToniAnn and Kyle - looking forward to going north for their wedding next year!

Debbie  looking chilly!

Granny and Kevin looking for seashells.....

Convinced Granny to try to smile for the camera!

And convinced the sweet sisters to smile also!  (did I say they were sweet??? haha!)  Good visit!

In a tight spot

Duane was working on some plumbing wayyy back inside this compartment.  He was sort of standing on his head reaching to the right about 4' to replace a hose.

When I saw the contortionist pose, I cheerfully said "I'm pretty sure I can just shimmy in there with my whole body and attach the hose for you".  He just as cheerfully said "have at it!"

It was probably not a smart idea......but the hose got properly installed.....and I asked Duane for some help to get out, because I was pretty much stuck!

I knew I was in for it when he said "wait just a sec, I've got to get a picture of this...."  I thought he was joking because he rarely, if ever, picks up the camera unless I ask him to!

He obviously did, eventually, lift me back out by hoisting me up using the waistband of my pants!......thanks dear.....

Happy 2015!

We celebrated the New Year with the Oriental Dragon(s) this year!  Good but chilly fun!

Started out at Nel's for a bit of refreshement (a Blue Dragon drink) and a bit of gaming....

Duane's got steady hands!

But eventually it had to tumble!  Time to head out to Hodges Street!

There's always a leader of the parade.....dressed in his pajamas (a.k.a.  kimono? - no, wait, that's Japanese....)   Apparently all is good for this noisy parade.

 Many townspeople participate in this event - the dragon is long!  It's good luck to touch the dragon!

And it's customary to make noise. Note the kitchen pan to the right in the photo. All were encouraged to beat pots with spoons to make the noise the dragon likes!

Touch the teeth for extra good luck!

A small sample of the full dragon!

There is not just one, but TWO dragons running on Hodges Street!

And I'll leave you with a final clip of this fine dragon!  Happy New Year!