Dream Rental

Our Dover Shores pickleball friends, Karen and Rich, drove from Blue Ridge, GA to visit with us today. Our original plan was for them to play at our new courts and then have lunch at our rental. God had other plans. It began raining maybe ten minutes after they arrived at the court. Boo hoo! They next followed us to the donut shop on Tennessee Street in the little downtown which I will write more about another time because it is good and super cute. 

Next they followed us to Charlotte's Cottage for a visit and lunch. They saw what I saw when I first came across the house on the internet. Darling is one word that comes to mind. Bruce lit the fireplace, something that my friends at home will find laughable, however, it was chilly, dark, and pouring rain. Both the light and warmth from the fire were welcome. Before they left, Rich took our picture.

On their way back to Blue Ridge she sent me a text saying we had found a "dream rental." I could not have said it any better.

So let's go back to last week when it also rained and we visited the Folk School. Truth is we went back yesterday and it was an entirely different experience in the sunshine. That said, I am going to share one from yesterday that makes me so happy. Purple Martins are in the house! The male is the more purple!

As you can well imagine I took many, many more that will be shared at a later date. My first ever sighting of these lively birds. Woo hoo!

So, the day we went last week, pickleball was rained out so plan B. had to be implemented. It was not a pretty day.

That said, it is but an eight mile drive from the cottage making that part easy. We had no idea what to expect, but found ourselves delighted as each new vista came into view. 

Begun in 1925, it is a folk school with week long classes in all manner of crafts including paper, clay, wood, metal and pretty much anything else that can be turned into either something beautiful or useful. We spent most of our time in the beautiful gardens.

Little did I know that when we saw our first Goldfinch amongst the plants that we would soon have a resident pair of our own the following week. (more on that soon)

Here's a log cabin built by students.

Everything was so dramatic because of the wet, saturated colors. 

Underneath that roof was something amazing in the form of a Barn Swallow nest, the likes of which we have not seen before. As you may recall, mud  was the choice in the ones we have seen previously. I have no idea what this is. 

Unreal, right? There was a youngish woman sitting inside, watching and filming the action as the parent came to feed. She explained how she had been a student there many years before and fell in love with the everything. We can easily understand why after visiting, as it is a very peaceful place.

Lots and lots of bees, a cause for celebration.

Drying onions...

as well as specialty dyed fabric drying in the damp air.

I swear I saw a sign posted declaring this was thyme.

Then again, maybe I didn't?

Birds, thank you very much.

Intricate foliage,

as well as multi-colored blossoms. Actually I practically jumped out of the car when these came into view!

Seeing them in white before, I had no clue that they came in red, orange and pink...no way!

Did I mention it was gloomy, or more accurately, atmospheric? Green, lots and lots of green.

I believe they call this the Long Barn, which when we visited, was filled with children learning crafts. The name fits.

This is inside the Keith House where dances are held on the weekend. Think square dancing, or perhaps clogging? There were some serious discussions going on when we passed through.

In another building adjacent to the gardens, we witnessed folks involved in morris dancing which was fascinating to say the least. I am sure it is out there somewhere, but what we witnessed, at least as far as the costumes were concerned, was slightly different from the link I have provided.

More bees! As reported above, they were there in abundance.

My goodness, how about a beautiful Strawberry Oak Hydrangea plant???

All that rain makes for huge flowering bushes! The apples are looking very good as well.

Let's talk about Barn Swallows, shall we? They were also present flying around fast and furious as they needed to feed their hungry broods.

It can't be easy being a bird is one thing that comes to mind. Here's some info on them should you be curious and want to improve your knowledge when it comes to their lifestyle. Pop quiz in my next post! Just joking, but boy do I have some exciting photographs coming up with their interesting behavior.

I've not even shown you the studios for all of the classes because, frankly, this has probably gone on long enough, but before I call it a published post, I wanted to show off some of the amazing pottery done by our friend Susan Bach who taught a week-long pottery class there in early June. She is the black, white, and bold color queen. Aren't those drinking glasses amazing? I'm only sorry I cut off one of her lamps in this photo as they are terrific, as is everything she makes.

Her husband Steve is an artist as well. Bruce first became acquainted with him when he painted a mural for one of the Olive Gardens that Bruce built. Does anyone remember that OG look?

Can we all just agree that it is a small world after all? I mean seriously, did I tell you we met a fellow at pickleball that hired our good friend Susan to be his assistant principle in Orlando? We did. Frankly, most everyone we meet has some Florida connection. I'm still not sure what to make of that.

Until we meet again, I remain, your friend,

Gail

Where Do I Start?

Do I start with the rain? Lots of steady rain this week. although it did not keep us from adventuring. 

Pickleball, on the other hand, has been a challenge with wet courts most of the week.

Birds? New bird feeders are bringing us joy!

How about an amazing shop downtown with both beautiful antique quilts, and a verbose owner who is 80+ years old?

Seriously, the owner who hails from Orlando btw, is quite the talker, so much so that I had to hijack Bruce away from her storytelling. After exiting the shop myself, I assumed that when I heard the door open he was soon to follow, however, that was not to be. Eventually I stuck my head back in, remarking that her shop name, Linger Awhile was certainly apropos! That said, oh my, the quilts were fabulous!

She claims that all of the quilts she sells are handmade before 1940 and who am I to argue that?  I am in love with the one above.

Speaking of quilts, I never did show you the large panel, 2 yards in length, of this funny fabric I inserted into the back of our Murphy quilt. I purchased it ages ago at an estate sale and decided it was high time I put it to use!!! 

A  little bit of whimsy never hurts anything homemade!

Here's something fun to report. On our second day on the Murphy courts, a woman named Nancy asked Bruce about coming to play on their home court. Would we be interested? Why not? One thing that Nancy and her husband Curt had in common with Bruce is that they both worked for General Mills, they in Minnesota, whereas when Bruce began building Red Lobsters and Olive Gardens, they were owned by General Mills. So there was that. Anyway, a week ago Saturday morning we drove to their mountaintop home and here we are.

Unfortunately it was hazy that morning, but here's the view towards North Carolina and on a clear day, they can see Tennessee,

while on the other side another feast for the eyes awaits toward Georgia. Below is a side porch,

and here is the front porch with the guys enjoying a post-game beer. (Not only does Nancy share a name with my sister, but I learned she loves quilting and has three sons!)

After which time, we followed them on some mighty winding roads,

to have some Georgia barbecue. Indeed it was dam good!

Bruce put the bird feeder in a tree outside the living room window, accomplishing the task in an unusual fashion.

Here he is tying it to that rope you see above.

To say that it has been successful is an understatement. Oh my, oh my!

Here is one of the first birds to partake, one whose body and size would tell you is a Tufted Titmouse, but that face! What is going on?

It is as if the head never emerged completely from the body. Sorry it is not clearer, but I am shooting through the screen and window, both of which are crazy clean. Our old windows at home are not even close when it comes to clarity. 

Perhaps I have described our situation before, but then again, perhaps I have not. The adorable little house where we are staying has a spacious screened front porch which faces the side of the owners home.

Note the deer in their front yard, a daily occurrence somewhere on the property! I learned from John that when they built the house ten years or so ago, for themselves and the cottage for Laura's mother, each were named. We are all familiar with "Charlotte's Cottage" and now I have learned that their home is named "The Orchard House." Which explains, this:

and this:

and this:

Peaches, which are mostly through for the season, along with nectarines, plums, pears and apples. 

We wanted nature and man, oh man, we are getting it in spades. Every single day so far, there are new discoveries.

When I tell you that it has been raining a bunch, it is no exaggeration, although it is far softer than a Florida rain. At least that is our experience to date. Unlike in Florida where you could hardly pay me to walk in the rain, I've done it now multiple times because, the truth is, the rain sticks around. Which is most definitely cutting into our pickleball playing time but not necessarily my outdoor time.

None of this five days a week on the courts for this pickleball crazy couple. 

All of the rain this time of year makes everything green, green, and more green! This is the land adjacent to the cottage.

Our landlords thought of everything when they built these two houses, including a wonderful carport at the end of the pictured driveway which has saved us from getting soaked. 

A fun thing we did three days after arriving is attend the Third Thursday event at the Depot. 

As time goes on we will explore more about the history of Murphy, but for today's purpose I will just say that there used to be a train that came through the town, but no longer does. As I recall, on the scheduled day, it rained hard earlier in the afternoon, but quit in time for the get together. Not knowing what to expect, sadly I was not in the best position to photograph the musicians, but it did not stop me from trying! Next time we will arrive in time to secure a better seat.

I thought it was bluegrass, however I now stand corrected. The fellow with his back to the camera told me their band calls their sound, "honky tonk." Whatever it was, we liked it as did a few of the folks who took to the dance floor.

We later learned that many of the performers were from the nearby John C. Campbell Folk School. 

As to the folk school? We spent a rainy day there when the courts were too wet and it was so great that it will require a post onto it's own. 

So far, this is just what the doctor ordered. The unrelenting drama, pitting friends against friends, continues at our condo, but being nearly 600 miles away, it is far from my mind. Instead, each day unfolds with new discoveries in an unfamiliar landscape. 

Tomorrow will mark two weeks since we arrived. When we were thinking of buying a place in North Carolina, we watched many videos on the state of, well, the state, from real estate to the weather. As I recall, one woman told her viewers that it rains a lot in North Carolina and if you don't like rain, don't move there. Generally I am not a rain lover, however, after living in Vancouver for a somewhat rainy year, I came to appreciate it more. After all, rain makes green, right?

So much more to share....

your friend,

Gail

One Week In

While this time away from Orlando will be far shorter than our previous year in Vancouver, there are some similarities when it comes to getting adjusted to a new home away from home. Of course our accommodations could not be more different-- one set up in the sky, and this one set in a forest. John and Laura have a small orchard in front of their home, thus not many steps from ours. For now I have no clue what this is except for pretty. 

In the above linked post it was my first time tackling the garbage, something we did here late last week. Turns out that our landlords do not have garbage pick up, instead taking it to what John called, the convenience center which turned out to be just that, very convenient. On our way back this was the view of Murphy.

The convenience center looks like this....same as Vancouver with countless receptacles, so many that some are not pictured. 

One week in, things are going well. The kitchen is good but I have had Bruce order a toaster from Amazon with some of his Father's Day gift because I am having trouble getting our toast the way we like it. 

So, so happy that I brought my knife.

Here's something funny. Note the potato peeler that I brought from home. Also note the lone radish in the bowl. Radishes were exceptional, something we've not had for some time and get this: Charlotte (Laura's mother) had the same peeler in the drawer already!! Better having two OXO peelers than any other kind! Another thing to note is that we have purchased the most delicious corn on the cob that we've had in years. 

The river walk is proving to be an excellent place to exercise while Bruce is in the gym. Some of it is leafy green,

and other parts are in the wide open. Interestingly enough, the dam above Murphy is opened by the TVA for the summer to raise the level of the river for recreation; in some places the water goes way up the tree trunks as shown below.

I'd never before seen a Groundhog in person, but now I have! 

As I was walking along it just stayed put, munching on grass. After seeing this interesting critter, I had to learn a little more about groundhogs. I learned, get this.....when hibernating their temperature drops from 98 to 37 degrees!! Not only that, their heartbeat slows to five beats a minute. Never think that reading Camera Crazy is a waste of time when you can learn stuff like that.

Deer are seemingly everywhere! While on our way to visit someone's home, as we were driving in...

Did you catch that? We were invited to someone's home on Saturday!! Unreal. More on the visit in the next post.

Also, and this is super exciting, a fawn crossed the road in front of us, trying to catch up with his/her family.

We watched as it worked hard to climb the bank alongside the road to catch up. In person it looked very young.

One day their were wild turkeys crossing the yard out front.

Which looks like this:

So we are at the top of the driveway on the right and the driveway heading left is to our landlords beautiful home. A much larger version of the one where we are staying. We have already fallen in love with this little house with the light and bright interior. With the 22' ceiling in the living area, it feels far larger than the square footage sounds. 

At the bottom of the drive and to the left is the pond where there are plenty of fish.

Outside the bedroom window the hill rises with a bunch of daisies growing on it. I have not come to any conclusion yet as to whether or not they are multiplying.

Maybe it was Thursday, or maybe not, but in any case, some day of the week, I was walking on a part of the designated river walk when I came to a fork and decided to go off said walk and turned onto a neighborhood road adjacent to the proper walk. Not only did I come across a cemetery with some pretty seriously decorated graves,

I saw this in front of what looked to be a residential home,

and just down the way a bit, a home with a beautiful apple tree with abundant ripening fruit.

That is my kind of recreation, a photo walk seeing what comes into view.  Lots of little birdies that got away. :(

Sunday morning we visited the downtown Methodist church, arriving before most everyone else.

The group that plays pickleball here are serious indeed, even having a treasurer to collect funds for improvements to the courts. The new sign, an example of player funded improvement, was installed last Friday while we were there. The lighting isn't the best, so in case it is illegible it reads, Valley River Picklers. 

In yet another thing that falls under the category of "if you can believe it" is, that while we were grocery shopping at Ingles yesterday, we heard a man behind us saying hello Bruce and Gail.  Turning around we recognized John. You guessed it, we met him while playing pickleball! It was pretty surreal. 

More neat stuff to relate, but for now I will sign off, however not before this final bit.

Longtime friends and readers know that I am a sucker for nostalgia. While watching the pickleball tournament I began reading the cookbooks on the shelf in the living area. Color me tickled to death to find this Betty Crocker cookbook from the year after I was born. I plan on leaving it open on the little island to peruse while waiting on water to boil, that sort of thing. 

That nostalgia thing....I was given a BC cookbook for my wedding 50 years ago in August. So there's that aspect, but too, I am feeling a bit of kinship with Charlotte using all of her cookware and dishes. I hope she would have liked us. We sure are feeling at home in her home.

your friend,

Gail

p.s. I brought those clippings from home to make the place homier.