Around the House

For the past months I have taken a lot of people photographs, not really my specialty, but I do the best I can. There was the more than a thousand at the pickleball tournament, two weddings, a memorial service and then there was VBS, accounting for countless more thousands. 

With that in mind, let us have a look at what is happening in our yard and sweet home on Campbell Street,  shall we?

You betcha!

As I was carrying something to our office from the kitchen I glanced to my left and what to my wondering eyes should I see but this site through the window in the door to the back porch and yard!!

Picture me flipping out, calling out to Bruce, "come quick!!!", and both of us racing down the stairs to the basement in order to see this magical sight through the sliding glass doors. Neither of us can remember seeing a deer laying down, and especially not in our backyard!! I'm thinking they were enjoying the shade from the penetrating sun, using the gigantic magnolia tree as their umbrella. 

For what we think was ten minutes, they rested; I had gone out the front door and around through the fairy garden in order to see them a little bit closer without frightening them away.

As soon as one got up, they all got up and trotted through our neighbor's yards to parts unknown.

What an unexpected blessing!! As well, one day I was standing  right near the zinnias when a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly landed on one of the bloom,s so close to me it was crazy. I've done a fair amount of watching butterflies in my time and never before has one come so close to me. It was magical. 

Here's some exciting news: Bruce's watch has been repaired and looks better than it has for years!! I am including this because in the future we will wonder about it and won't have to wonder too long because I have a handy search engine on my blog that has helped us countless times. We say to one another, when did this happen? I never remember, but my blog does!! 

I'm feeling good and this recent saga will be a thing of the past soon. Hallelujah!

I did want to show you this drawing that the cardiologist made for me to demonstrate how A-Fib works. Perhaps I mentioned that he was kind? 

Before we move to the home pictures,  let's take a look at a fun activity from last week. Our friend Curt, who has been struggling with his health for far too long is feeling some improved and having a bunch of fellows play a pickleball tournament in his driveway was just the medicine he needed to keep him on the upswing.

Their view is SO impressive; I especially like it when there are clouds in the mountains.

Nancy is a wonderful hostess and makes things look effortless. She asked if I would come along to keep her company, but in reality she can hold her own with all the men, having been raised with five brothers on a dairy farm in Minnesota.

For the record, her quilting puts mine to shame!

Here's a  picture of our sweet town all decked out for America 250!

I just realized I have not taken any photos of the astonishing hanging baskets around downtown. I'm correcting that this week! The are so big it boggles the mind.

Supporting the local farmer's market is something we like to do on Saturday mornings, knowing how important it is to show support, not just showing up but spending money!  More customers, means more vendors, means more customers, we know the formula, having lived that life for ten years. Dana taught us that.  This week we came home with some nice items, including colored eggs, (love) even though they taste no different, pickled carrots, some onion rolls and a cinnamon bun for the man of the house.

The little bowl of tomatoes came from my plants. Can you believe it?? I have no idea why they are so small but they are pretty darn tasty, especially considering how bad the plants look right now!

One vendor, a woman, sells a variety of live worms. 

The quarter, placed by her, is to give a size perspective. We did not buy any.

Oh good grief, this will give you a laugh. A carrot that has been in the ground for four+ months!!!

The tops are pretty so we have just let them be, however curiosity got the best of me last week, thus the photo of a poor excuse for a carrot!

Last Friday night was the monthly art walk with glass artists featured at one of the galleries. The artist below teaches classes and I'm thinking of taking one of them for fused glass class. The tea light holder in the foreground is what she is making.

We ran into our good friend, Jayne who corrected me when I told the person I was introducing her to that she was 92. Not so fast Gail!! Only 91.

She makes all manner of things, including the jewelry behind her. We know multiple, mostly women, over 90 and it just amazes me how lively they are. Always keeping busy is their secret. 

Sadly, in the last month or so, two friends near our age, have died. Jeanette and Susan were their names and I met them both at work, spending years working side by side. May they rest in peace. 

Last Thursday we hosted a "listening session" at our home and it went well.

We had no idea what it was when we said yes to hosting; now we know that when a new pastor comes to town, he wants to listen to the congregation in order to get to know them in an intimate setting and allow them to learn more about, in this case, Evan. Intimate is the operative word in our small living room, although there were several more people there not pictured. Little Porter was a delight. Notably, a rainstorm began and oh my word, as 9 PM rolled around, the lightening was fierce. Whether I have written about it before or not, please forgive me for being repetitive, but goodness gracious, thunder booms in the mountains unlike in Florida where there is no echo involved. Twice last night we were awoken because of thunder.

I may have mentioned that I am keeping a garden diary about when I plant things, how they are doing, what is in bloom, that sort of thing. In my mind I go over each area and document what I see. Thus, I know that I started planting in the middle of March which was great for some things, like the lettuce, broccoli, and cabbage, but not so great for others that should have been planted later. Hopefully it will help me improve my skills, and I use that word loosely!

Let's look around. After a spell when they had aphids these beauties are coming back strong. I love the fact that they are double petunias.

This single petunia was purchased and planted at the same time, but got very straggly so after a big trim it is perking right back up.

Zinnias for the WIN! Planted from seed, I cannot believe how tall they are getting. Plus, look at this!!!

Watching the birds from the parlor window is great entertainment, especially when I can keep "Lucifer" at bay. Yup, I named the horrible cat Lucifer. Talking on the phone with D'Anna this morning, I saw him bypass my attempts at making it hard to get to the feeders. Today he was just standing below the open feeder waiting to leap high in the air to grab one of our birdies. "Wait a minute", I exclaimed to her as I ran outside to shoo him away. I wish I could say he was afraid of me, yet, I know that is not true. He just runs off when I appear. :(

Okay these geraniums!!! Are they not excellent? Never before in August have I had this bounty of blooms.

In the backyard, the coleus are showing their intricate patterns,

Did I show you the latest crop of mushrooms in the remaining hay bale? 

I never get bored here because there is always something new to notice. Who did this?

As you need not be reminded, it's handy having a woodworker in your family. After cleaning out two bird boxes, both of which had remaining nests (!) even though I only knew of the Titmouse that took up temporary residence in the box above, but anyway, he took the face plate off, made a new one and it looks perfect again. Open for tenants!

I'm stopping after this one, I promise.

Finally the green beans are growing and how how thrilled I am to have dahlias! 

This evening we are going to walk a labyrinth, another new experience. You, dear readers, will be one of the first to hear all about it!!

your friend,

Gail 

Looking Forward

Do you ever experience times when the days topple, one upon another, and the month is over? We had one such month in July. Mostly all good except for that unfortunate 10 days when I had to take Flagyl three times a day. It was hard to keep the timing straight, so I would set out three pills in the morning and hope I saw them enough times to take it. It was oh happy days, when this happened.

I've finally gotten my cardiac clearance to go off my blood thinner for three days before the dreaded colonoscopy appointment on, get this, our 53rd wedding anniversary!! Every day is a celebration around here, so I'm really just being silly! Hopefully, soon, we can put this whole unpleasant experience behind us and look forward once again. 

So, let's talk potatoes! I know what you are thinking, they had a bonanza crop of potatoes and if so, your thoughts would be misguided because here's the haul.

And, yet, I was pleased as punch. Haha, that reminds me of our wedding reception; cake and punch was on the menu. Does anyone still do that sort of thing? I think not! Anyway, as a first experiment, while in a sunny spot, the ground is hard, so we will try again in more forgiving soil. Tasty as well which is not always a guarantee is it? 

Look at this sweet pin my friend Robin got me!! Out of the blue she gifted it to me and the focus ring even moves! (my trusty camera bag)

A shout out to our daughter-in-law Michelle who gifted this t-shirt to Bruce. Remember how I told you we were decked out for 4th of July? I took this just before we left the house and I need not remind you of what happened next!

Is it any wonder I have held fast to this beautiful man? (both inside and out)

We made a second trip to Freddy's sunflower patch, if you can call it that because it is so big, but anyway, I got a kick out of this picture when I got around to looking at them. Do you see what I see?

It did my heart good to see that even Freddy's tomatoes have early blight. Not that I would wish that on anyone, but he's a pro, so if it happens to him, why shouldn't it happen to me?

What so fascinated me having the sunflowers in the house, 

basically everywhere that I could find a spot, 

was how much pollen dropped to the surface below. I cannot really remember that from any that I have purchased in the past, but then again, you know my memory. 

Have you read Theo of Golden yet? If not, get your hands on a copy and get to it because it is one of the most beautiful books you will ever read which I know sounds crazy, but it really is. Anyway, the curious Gail has done a little reading up on this gentleman author and in an interview he said that "his memory was like Teflon, nothing sticks." That would be me! Here's a link to a short visit with the author. 

Friends we have had some storms of late. 

Check out the Japanese Maple in early August. Finally it turned partly green but just you wait, before we know it, the color will be shockingly beautiful. Generally the rainstorms happen overnight, or if in the daylight hours, mild rain. Not so the last few weeks. 

One would think the drought would soon be a thing of the past.

Hydrangeas have been slow to show up but when they do, by golly, they are beautiful!

Adding to my sunflower story, which I know I keep going on about, but it has been one of the highlights of summer, so much so I was caught in a torrential downpour because my curiosity got the best of me. I felt the early drops but kept going to the riverbank when those few drops became, well, how many raindrops fall in a torrential storm anyway? Any ideas?

Actually it's kind of fun getting soaked.  The Boy Scout in the family came to my rescue with the huge umbrella he keeps in the car. :) It should be noted that I am writing this two weeks or so after that visit and the sunflowers are done for the year, in part because of so much rain. Proving you've got to get anything wonderful while you can!

Once it stopped we drove down Harshaw Road a bit because no summer is complete with seeing these beauties in a yard filled with plenty more flowers. It's really just a joy.

Oftentimes it is hard to convey size in a photograph so just believe me when I tell you the blooms are HUGE!

Well what have we here?

After a slow start, hummingbirds have been coming like nobodies business. While we love having them on the feeder, it's pretty darn wonderful seeing them going after the flowers planted just for them. 

Should you be wondering about the hardware cloth here's the scoop. We are trying everything to thwart a roaming cat from going after our birdies! To date, the cat is winning.

Can you even believe the color of the center plant? Would you call it fuchsia? SO vibrant. 

It is exciting seeing it thrive in what was once a very messy bed.

Going back a few weeks let's talk a little about VBS. Here is our new pastor, Evan, looking all giddy about being in Murphy! That would be David leading the older kids back for the closing assembly. He taught school forever and knows what he is doing!

David also, with a little help from his friends, created this bubble arch for the kids to come into the fellowship hall.

It so impresses me that the children are fed before things get going. Volunteers donate both the food and their time, including this sweet couple,

and I'm pretty sure you recognize these folks below, one of whom cooked and provided the food, and the other was the kitchen help.

Our friend Kerry, another former school teacher, was the puppet and did a marvelous job.

Each year that I have helped I look forward to what Liz, another former school teacher, is going to do with her science lessons. This one was so fun to watch the kids reaction, and mine too, for that matter.

Watching the beads tumble out of the container after the slightest touch to start them was so much fun for the children who got to do it themselves. I can't explain the golf ball experiment very well, but it had something to do with Isaac Newton. 

Crafts, stories, and of course the playground.

Much to everyone's surprise, no rain fell on those nights. A wonderful time was had by all.

Here we are..we've made it to the present! When your car won't start, well, in our case, you have to get a new battery. Turns out, after having had to be jumped twice, we discovered it was the original battery.

During the time we had no power to the car, if that makes sense, the tire sensors went out so that is where Mr. Peck is as I type, getting that fixed. 

While I still have much to say, if I keep you tied to this, there will be no time for reading the above acclaimed novel! 

These are dahlias, both pink and yellow in the background. I, little ol' me, started them from seeds!!! 

As much as I have gone on about it, one might think that I was the first to plant seeds wouldn't one? I know it seems crazy, but boy oh boy has it been fun!! 

May your weekend have more fun than you can stand and may you look forward most of the time!!

your friend,

Gail 

Asheville Part Two and More

We have been home for weeks, but still I want to get some of this goodness and a small bit of not so good,  down in my little space on the world wide web. Think about that...world wide! It's really so remarkable isn't it? We take it for granted now, just as we do, say electricity, but gosh we have lots to be grateful for! I was telling Matt the other day, that I rarely look at the statistics for my blog  powered by Google, that are available. I happened to recently check and what I see are posts that have been read in the last week. Usually a list of about eight or so. Because my posts go back to 2007, and cover such a range of topics people, whoever they are, still read some old ones. 

With that in mind, I saw that one post had been read 1,700 times in one week. Puzzled about what could generate such interest, I clicked on a post from June 29, 2016 which should it interest you can be read through this link.  The subject? The Pulse nightclub shooting. It must be because it is the 10 year anniversary? While that interested me, it also included the fact that I was just returning from California after being there to help Carol post Whipple surgery and if you don't know what that is, pray that you never have any reason to learn about it!! 

My blog has been helpful to me in keeping track of my various health challenges as well, something I have written about more often than I would have liked!! One memory from another time I suffered from a colitis attack was the drug that is prescribed for that, Flagyl. I was reminded how HORRIBLE the taste of the pill was, so much so we did everything we could to get me through 10 days of it, including putting it in applesauce for one thing. So, when the emergency room doctor said he was prescribing that, I was crestfallen. Well friends, I don't know what has changed but I had not the slightest problem taking it three times a day! I don't know what has changed, but I'm all for it!! Of course, I'd rather never have to take it again, but with my history, it is probably wise to never say never!

So, all that aside, let's get back to the Biltmore!

Good grief it was hot as it has been here the last few days. I am more than ready for some cooler weather! 

Our appointed time to enter the house came and from the very first glimpse I knew I was going to love it all!! The Winter Garden room greeted us and what a lovely space it is.

During a dark and cold winter I imagine this room was a breath of fresh air! 

So many rooms, all beautiful or interesting, so I will only show a few. It took us a long time to go through the rooms we saw out of the 250, can you imagine how long it would take to go through all 775 of the rooms at Buckingham Palace??? Yup, you read that right!

I think one of the things, of countless, that is so interesting, is how every surface is decorative. No plain walls, or floors. Ornate light fixtures such as this one that is three stories and hangs beside the grand staircase.  I especially loved how the windows followed the line of the staircase. 

Try as I migh, I could only include two of the tree levels ot the chandelier. Can you imagine how heavy that is???

Fireplaces??? They needed them back then! 

The room is so large that there are two identical fireplaces flanked by tapestries from the 1500s.

We would have been lost without the audio tour! Not just how to get around, but we learned quite a bit.

The life-sized paintings at the end of the room are of the architect and Fredrick Law Olmsted who designed the landscaping and so much more. 

A bowling alley, several kitchens, an exercise room complete with all manner of equipment that is still used today, just somewhat updated.  The swimming pool!! Fantastic. Let's put it this way, I cannot think of a thing that was not fantastic aside from it being hot as blue blazes! I so wanted to jump in the fountain!

The following day we went to the North Carolina Arboretum that sits adjacent to an entry to the Blue Ridge Parkway. Who does not like a garden, right? Their bonsai collection is remarkable.

The stone walls are marvelous, as were the plantings in spite of the summer heat, or maybe because of it?

It's a lovely place to roam, probably in any season.

One would think that one would see plenty of birds but for this enthusiast that was not the case aside from this little Song Sparrow. 

Watching a bonsai being trimmed was fascinating.

Aren't these just charming?

Another day we went to the Southern Highland Craft Guild Folk Art Center located on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Walking in the first space I saw this woman sewing, so naturally I had to have a chat. What an interesting woman, who is not only is she wildly accomplished herself, she also judges quilts at places like the National Quilt Museum, the very one we visited in Paducah, KY. Really, the holy grail for quilters!

Her work is impeccable! Plus she gave me some helpful tips which I hope to incorporate soon. Lots of quilts there, 

as well as all manner of very high level crafts, including amazing furniture and so much more.

The above items are part of their permanent collection but most things were for sale; I bought a clay clock with birds on it. Super cute and what could be better, combining two of my favorite things? Were you aware of my love of timepieces? For years and years I had a collection of watches that I rotated like other people do jewelry. 

We drove a bit on the BRP until we came to a wonderful overlook.

And then I think we went back to the condo to watch a World Cup match. 

Later on Bruce and I walked across the street from the condo, discovering a mid-week market.

Some delicious looking pastries at one booth.

The afternoon was still crazy hot so we went into the brewery for a nice cold drink! Lots of folks watching yet another match on the big screen.

While some folks watched a little screen.

The next night we had a meet up with John and Laura who had just come to their condo after we moved to a hotel in downtown. 

Tom explaining something or other, charming all with his British accent.

Following dinner we walked back to the hotel, admiring some of the buildings and art.

Following our return to Murphy we happened upon a video story about how Asheville had somewhat of a boom/bust economy in the past and when it was booming beautiful buildings were the result.

We learned that no new public buildings were built for 50 years as they paid off their debt! We also learned about how the presence of the Biltmore shaped the history and future of Asheville. 

West Asheville is full of street art, however, the above is the only thing I saw downtown, admittedly a limited sample size as we did not go far on foot because it was so darn hot!! 

The next morning the London lads flew to Orlando to spend the next week at our place, visiting family in town, Tom's brother and his wife flew in from Manchester, UK, and a glorious time was had by all. The baby car, AKA my MINI Cooper parked in Orlando, had quite the workout during their stay!

We stopped for breakfast at this cafe with an amazing blue banquette. 

Our drive home took us through Sylva, a town all dressed up for America 250.

Saturday morning, July 4, we got situated after being gone for nearly a week, getting all of our chores done in time to walk to town, me in a red striped top, red skort and blue Keds, and Bruce wearing his patriotic pickleball shirt. Walking into town, heading towards the new bandstand where the festivities were to begin, it was then that everything went to hell in a hand basket. 

All of a sudden, my abdomen began hurting and I needed to find a restroom. Handing Bruce my camera bag, that contained my phone btw, I went into Fairy Cross, our local wine hangout. I was a complete mess, hurting like crazy, covered with sweat and pretty much frantic. I don't really know how long it was before I heard Bruce's voice outside the door. I stumbled to the door and went just outside the door. The patrons took one look at me and began asking me, " are you okay?"  No, I am not. The good news is there was a tourist in town from Florida who was an EMT. She took control, seeing my sad state of affairs, yelling out, someone call an ambulance, I can't find her pulse! Good grief!! 

Thanks be to God, an ambulance was already standing nearby due to the fireworks etc. so, in not time at all,  Jacob was moving furniture out of the way, your friend was put on the stretcher and before we even got moving the excellent Murphy EMT started an IV on his first try, a big deal  because the older I get, the harder it is to find my veins. That's all for the messy details, but I will tell you that when we returned to Fairy Cross, after a few weeks absence, I had a bit of PTSD, as did Jacob (he runs the place), saying to me, "don't go trying to die on me again!" 

I will do my best!!

As is always the case, multiple people helped us, brought flowers and Bruce lived up to the nickname given to him by my Mom, "a prince among men", doing what he could to hold up the fort as I recovered for days. I am still undergoing some tests, but more than twenty years ago I had a similar episode of Ischemic Colitis, so I'm sure that is what this will prove to be. 

I really missed my camera, but eventually I got to put it to use, first when my honey took me to see Freddy's huge stand of sunflowers.

He encouraged me to take all that I wanted and I obliged! 

Potato crop is in, hundreds of photos taken for VBS, new coffee shop Bruce has been dying to see opened and lots more.

Next post maybe I can get to the present? I'll do my best!

Oh and I am feeling much better.

your friend,

Gail