Being Grateful for our many Blessings-- Thanksgiving, 2020

Dear Friends,  Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours...  2020 has been a 'strange' year for so many of us.  The Covid virus is still around --and for many of us,  it seems to be getting worse instead of better..  As I say A LOT,  will it EVER END??????

As we enter into the holiday season,  most of us are seeing many changes in our lives and our families.. Instead of gathering among loved ones for Thanksgiving Dinner this year,  we are staying home and are talking to loved ones online.   It's just not the same.  

George and I thought we were one of the lucky ones this year,  hoping to spend Thanksgiving with son Mark and his gal,  Robin...  We were so excited... HOWEVER,  they called Tuesday night and gave us some bad news... Robin is the Director of a pre-school in Knoxville and just  found out that her assistant had tested positive for Covid. SO--Robin got tested Wednesday but won't get her results for about 4 days or longer.   THEREFORE,  our wonderful Thanksgiving with them has been postponed... We all were SO disappointed.  So---George and I will be home talking to all of the family on the phone and on Facetime...  Life is different for sure!

Many of you have been talking all month about showing gratitude --even through the rough times.  SO--today,  I have picked out some of my favorite quotes and ideas to share with you... I have always 'tried' to be POSITIVE with whatever life gives me/us... But I'll admit that I am one who needs to read these quotes over and over --each and every day!!!! Another quote which I love says that there is ALWAYS something to be grateful for!!!!  Oh --how true that is... 

For me,  I am truly grateful for being out in nature  and experiencing God's Beauty all around us.  That is why I also included a couple pictures I took on 10/21/20 of the beautiful Fall colors... I hope they will bring a smile to your face on this Thanksgiving Day in the USA.    ENJOY!!!!!

I took this picture on 10/21/20 at Indian Boundary Recreation Area,  off of the Cherohala Skyway --not too far from Tellico Plains,  TN

On 10/21/20,  late in the afternoon --we were headed down the mountain toward home and stopped just to capture this incredible sky.  

Hope your day is WONDERFUL...  With God in our lives,  what more could we want!  George and I were supposed to go to the beach next week --but postponed that trip until March  due to so much Covid around (we have been very lucky so far and want to continue to stay lucky).  But--there's another reason:  Even though I had a Cardiac Ablation only 3 weeks ago,  I went back into A Fib already,  and was not feeling very good for about 20 hours --until I reverted back to Normal Sinus Rhythm.  Tis LIFE ---BUT I will continue to give it my best shot...  God continues to bless me in so many other ways!!!

Have a fabulous day --and weeks ahead... I won't blog again until December 7th...

God's Blessings on ALL of you.  Thank you for always being there for me/with me each and every month/year.   

Love,

Betsy💝💛💚💕

 

Cherohala Skyway in Autumn 10/21/20

Come Join us for an Autumn Ride along the Cherohala Skyway,  10/21/20

Dear Blog Friends,  Welcome to a day along the Cherohala Skyway. This is a National Scenic Byway which is 43 miles long,  and gradually heads up and then down the mountain between Robbinsville,  North Carolina and Tellico Plains,  Tennessee.

 Some people call this road the "Mile High Legend" ---since the elevation from the bottom to the top is about a MILE..   The name,  Cherohala comes from the two National Forests it crosses,  the Cherokee National Forest and the Nantahala National Forest.

This beautiful Skyway is never as crowded with people as the Smoky Mountains --so in many ways,  we like it almost better.  The drive itself is awesome ---and there are many overlooks along the way for one to stretch his/her legs and capture some pictures.  And --the area has MANY hiking trails!!!  We highly recommend it.  Hope you enjoy this Autumn's journey with us today --across the Cherohala!!!!

For more information about this amazing area,   click HERE,

We started our journey at an elevation of less than 1000 feet --and drove to the top of the mountain at approximately 5400 feet (and then back down the other side). So--you will enjoy the pictures at various elevations along the way. 

I love to look UP and see the pretty colors along with the blue skies.

Just a big carpet of color!  Wow --wish you could have seen this in person!!!

Different elevation from the last picture,  and not quite as much color! But---I love seeing the colorful mountain ranges in the distance.

I zoomed in here to see all of the RED trees, always my favorites!!

This picture is 'brighter' since the colors really pop out when the sun and blue skies are there.  (As you can tell from precious pictures,  we did have a little trouble with sunshine and blue skies when we were on the Cherohala.)

We stopped at one of the many overlooks and this is what we saw!!!!

I really think that this picture along the Cherohala Skyway says it all on this day (10/21/20). You see some colors at various elevations,  some blue skies,  some mountain ranges,  and some clouds--along with some sunshine. What more could one want?????

For my last picture,  I'll share a picture from our stop at Indian Boundary (on our way back down the mountain).   I love the colors of this tree hanging out over the water. 

 

Well--that's enough for today.  I used to post many more pictures --but in these crazy, busy times, most people prefer less pictures when looking at a Blog post. So I make myself stop with 10...

I hope you enjoyed seeing DAY TWO of our little Leaf-Peaking Trip.   What a fabulous trip it was this year.   We have taken this trip in the Fall several times --and this year may have been our best one  for colors and great weather.  We spent Day 1 in and around the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and Day 2 in and around the Cherohala Skyway.  Between those two days,  we spent the night at a wonderful old INN  (FRYEMONT INN) in Bryson City,  NC.  Excellent rustic inn --with lots of history!

If you missed my photos from Day 1 (in the Smokies),  click HERE.

Have a great week, my friends, and thanks for 'allowing' me to share my A Fib Story last week.  Hopefully, my story can help someone else.  I am feeling better this week --so hopefully I will be able to get out and do more hiking and walking soon.  

Hugs,

Betsy💝💛💚💕