The Derosia Team

Happy New Year Traditions, Superstitions, and Resolutions...oh my! Check out our latest post for fun ways to ring in the new year or ways to celebrate throughout the year! Traditions around the World : England: First guest for the year is supposed to bring fortune. In order to be allowed in a person's home, you must bring a loaf of bread for the kitchen, drink for the head of the house, and coal to light the fire.  Denmark: Keep a pile of broken dishes by the front door. People will even throw dishes at their friend's door. It is believed that those who have the most broken dishes outside their door have the most friends.  China: People paint their front doors red to symbolize happiness and good fortune. Brazil: Lentils signify wealth and prosperity, so people eat dishes made with them. Wales: When the clock strikes midnight people open their back door and then shut it to symbolize letting out the old year and locking out any bad luck that came with it. Upo

Merry Christmas Christmas time is a great time to celebrate friends, family, and the spirit of giving. A ravaging wildfire may have caused destruction in our area, but from this we see that the Christmas Spirit is alive and well in our area. So many local businesses, residents, and visitors have stepped up to make sure that everyone in our area has a very Merry Christmas and remembers the reason for the season! There are truly angels walking among us.  Check out this post for some fun activities to do with the family, yummy recipes, and a few options to enjoy Christmas dinner out on the town! Make a snow globe You'll need: a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid; a plastic figurine; waterproof glue; distilled water (you can also use boiled and cooled tap water); liquid glycerin (available at crafts stores); glitter. Let your child pick out the figure, then glue it inside the lid and let the glue dry. Fill the jar with water, a squirt of glycerin (it helps the glitte

November 23rd, 2016-----A date that will forever be etched in the minds of residents and visitors of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and areas surrounding it. A man-made fire began in the Chimney Tops area of the national park. The steep terrain made firefighting efforts difficult. Fast forward 5 days when high winds coupled with extreme drought conditions caused this situation to quickly escalate out of hand. Embers were carried miles away sparking fires throughout Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. To create an even worse situation high winds caused down power lines and transformers to blow creating more fires. This devastation resulted in more than 20,000 acres burnt, 2,460 structures damaged or destroyed, 14 fatalities, and 191 injuries or illnesses.  Yes, the devastation appears insurmountable, but as Mayor Mike Werner said best, "We are Mountain Tough, and We have a Strong, Strong Faith in God"! As residents and business owners were