Spotted on the deck. It was huge, that pole is about 8inches across…..

…and in the bath. Lovely.

We’re on Vacation in Tennessee, in a cabin up a mountain in between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. Pigeon Forge is not the most attractive town I’ve ever visited and has more ways to part you from your cash than I’ve seen in a very long time, Gatlinburg is similar but has a nicer feel to it.

Thankfully the setting is idyllic and we are just a couple of miles from the National Park so yesterday we visited Cades Cove which is a very picturesque valley nestled in between the mountains.

Within minutes of stopping to view an old house we saw a female black bear foraging in the undergrowth. She was much smaller than I imagined, I’m guessing she was about 100lbs and maybe would have stood about 4ft if she was upright.
She didn’t approach us but did come quite close at one point, she just carried on eating whatever she was eating and then walked right past all the tourists with cameras.

Once back in the car we saw people gathering further down the road and slowed down to see a mother bear with a cub. We decided not to get out incase the mother bear got defensive, so I don’t have any cub pictures.

Our first glimpse of the bear.

David and I drove to Louisville last month to attend Together for the Gospel conference. It was nice to get away for a few days and enjoy the some good preaching and free books.
One of the highlights for me was strolling past lines of several hundred men waiting for the bathroom and getting straight into the ladies room. I still feel kind of smug about that.

Euan is now eight years old, This is the cake that I made for him today.

So it’s Cowboy Week at school. I think he’d sleep in his hat if I let him, he loves the gun and holster the best though.

They’re having a Valentine’s party at pre-school today, boys with ties and girls with hats. Forrest very kindly made him the bow tie, we were careful not to get raisin bran and milk on it this morning.

One of the Deacons found this when they were counting the money. And no, on this occasion my children were not guilty.

It’s snowing, not a lot, but it’s official Mississippi snow this time.

The husband of one of the pre-school teachers at our church school returned from Canada with a truck full of snow, you know, as you do. He kindly tipped it in the playground for the kids to play with, this is all that was left by the time the boys got home from school.