Family Fun. Part Two

 What better way to start a post entitled family fun than this silly photograph?

Perhaps you are wondering what exactly to make of this and I am here to explain. This is a new feature since our last visit to Deerwoode, a spring-fed swimming hole that some of us very much enjoyed as it was crazy sunny, and HOT.  Finding these floats to use, and because both Matt and Jonathan have very fair skin, not often exposed to the sun, they fashioned some ingenious shade for their faces. Come to think of it, apparently the apple does not fall far from the tree as this is the sort of thing Bruce might think of!

The dock is in the foreground and eventually your favorite blogger jumped off of it into the cool mountain water below. It was really neat because you would come across very cold spots and then super warm from the summer sun.

Count me surprised to see a Sanderling.

Actually I have that wrong, it is a Solitary Sandpiper, somewhat puzzling as there was a pair of them! Anyway, not the kind of bird I would imagine being in the mountains.

Speaking of birds, can you find the one below? Like a Where's Waldo?

There are apple trees adjacent to the garden, as well as peach trees. (Jonathan and I were near the trees when he spotted the Monarch butterfly.

He was not with me when I saw this one though,

nor this one that I came across on my solo walk on the trails. Holy Cow, a butterfly entirely new to me.

According to the information HERE, that Matt provided after I was having no luck identifying the elusive butterfly, it is a wonder I saw the above at all.

While I was walking on this maintained trail,

I suspect by now, having read your fair share of North Carolina posts that you can guess what happened. 

Bingo!

Alissa likes taking photographs nearly as much as I do. so one evening we went out to see what we could see. A colorful sky at sunset,

while this one was a little earlier in the evening.

Honestly, that is one of the other things I most love, the ever-changing sky.  This was a view early one morning from the front porch rockers. Note the large parking area where Nancy and I practiced pickleball with Jonathan being a pitch hitter. Is that too goofy of a joke? Okay, to put it plainly, he hit a few balls as well, and was way better than his mom! (The building on the right is in progress as a large event space that will open in the next six months for weddings, markets, and concerts)

There is a large lake for boating with kayaks, canoes, and a pedal boat for the guests to use.

I think Matthew left America a little less confident of his Mom's skill set these days as I looked pretty silly getting in both the pedal boat, and getting on and off the kayak. Mostly though, my problem lies with not being able to put much weight on my left wrist, making things look very awkward indeed. The fact that on a subsequent day our tubing trip proved to be slightly challenging because of a few unforeseen circumstances involving Mrs. Camera Crazy did not ease his mind much. Rest assured son, I am slightly stronger and more competent than I look!

Cookout under the trees!!

Cards were played, a mushroom foraging game learned, and a jigsaw puzzle was put together by Tom and Alissa in record time. Those two!!

I'm not going to lie, the weather was warm, but it is August so what was I really expecting?

I took the above from the swimming hole one afternoon. The one below, wow, the fog was thick on our last morning.

Taking a walk with Jonathan and Alissa, one thing that was so interesting were the multitude of spider webs we saw in the damp morning light. How cool is this one? 

While one is good, more is even better. These are made by a Bowl and Doily spider according to this. (thanks Alissa)

Amazing, right? Dozens and dozens of the delicate webs were to be found in the meadows that are left in their natural state. I can't remember how many are left alone, but it is a significant number of the 175 acre property because it is a nature conservation reserve. 

The garden is even better now that Scott is maintaining it. Bill, the previous owner for 40 years was working the garden on our first visit, however, he has succumbed to dementia and is no longer living at home. :(

More garden goodness,

and one of the pollinators of said garden must be included.

Having seen all that the place has to offer, is it any wonder I wanted to share it with our children? 

Fortunately I was sharing this boat ride with Tom who did all of the steering while we pedaled together.

photo credit: Alissa!  That boat ride was much better with the top on!

As you can imagine, I took far more photographs than what you see, but if I shared all of my favorites we would be here for a good long while longer. How about I just paddle off until my next post when the clan will actually leave the property?

I do look a little goofy don't I? In my defense, I was wearing a dress in mixed company!

your friend,

Gail

Four Days of Family Fun

When I made the suggestion that what I really wanted for our anniversary, in lieu of a party, was for the family to get together at one of my favorite places, Deerwoode Reserve,  it was met with mixed reactions. Two sons were in and two sons were out due to work obligations. At the time I had no idea that we would ultimately be spending the summer in western North Carolina so with those who could come and those who could not blessings, I reserved Coyote Lodge for four days. Turns out that even though I was booking early, our actual anniversary was unavailable, so having learned in my 69 years that it pays to be flexible, I booked the lodge.  

How could we actually pull it off was the next burning question? Ingenuity is how.

Here's how it all came together thanks to everyone's flexibility:

I invited Nancy to join us as we would have an extra bedroom and that turned out to be a huge blessing! My sister Nancy, the driving queen, drove to Murphy first, drove to Brevard, drove both Matt and Tom back to Murphy, followed by driving them to Orlando where they were to spend a week in our condo!!  None of the driving, btw, is easy, but I will get to that in a bit. We were ever so grateful for her help.

Matt and Tom flew to Asheville from London, via another airport I've forgotten. At the same time, Jonathan and Alissa were doing their best to fly into Asheville from Austin but it was not easy with delays and whatnot. Nonentheless, in the end, the two parties met and Jonathan subsequently drove them all to the lodge. 

Whew! Bruce drove us to Brevard and what a drive it turned out to be! 

But I am getting ahead of myself.

Nancy arrived on Friday afternoon after making the long drive from Orlando. Whew! It seems like a long time ago now but as I recall we took her to our favorite wine shop hangout where she got to meet Jen while relaxing after the long drive. The next morning we were invited to Curt and Nancy's mountain top pickleball court where we had a lot of fun.

On the way up the mountain, this little one ran across the road, much to our delight.

Talk about some fog! When we began play it looked like this, however, after a few hours we were once again able to see all of the mountains. It is really extraordinary to this Floridian!

I took a small walk in their adjacent woods while the other four were playing and I came across this which reminded me of a compact disc. Remember how revolutionary they were at the time? I still remember our first one;  Annie Lennox singing Why? While I haven't heard that song in ages, having just done so, wow, what a voice!! Bruce asked me how in the world I remembered this and my only explanation is because, at the time, the sound from a cd seemed just remarkable, filling the room with her gorgeous voice.

What still seems remarkable to us is the presence of deer, one of which I spotted while on this little walk. It seems almost magical to see such a beautiful creature appear out of nowhere.

Nancy spent the night at Hank's house and we were all going to meet up at the rodeo in Andrews, however, a big storm came up, nixing that plan. Instead, Bruce and I went to see Barbie, leaving with mixed reviews. 

Here's a little funny story illustrating small town life. We actually thought Nancy was coming into town to join us at the movie, so I waited on the sidewalk for her while Bruce bought the tickets and secured our back row seats. Turns out there was a little miscommunication and she was not coming after all.  So I went inside, finding Bruce settled down into our seats in the back row. While watching the scenes unfolding on the screen I noticed Bruce getting up and acting a little strange. As it turns out, he was suffering a huge leg cramp, something that happens on occasion and is most unwelcome. Swallowing mustard works like magic, so after I asked the theater workers if there was mustard in the house and receiving no for an answer, I explained the situation, walked out the front door and crossed the main street to retrieve the emergency mustard from the car. Because everything is so small this was accomplished with ease and soon Bruce was, once again, settled comfortably in his seat. Not making this stuff up friends!

Leaving the next morning, we decided against following one another, but we would keep in touch.  As we rounded one of hundreds of curves we were greeted by a phenom, or at least it is to me. 

Naturally I asked Bruce to stop at this viewpoint to see what I could see. I saw a lot, including these beautiful butterflies near the railing in the photo above.

Mostly we stayed on US 64 except for a bit, far longer than anyone had hoped for, which took us on a two- lane road that had so many curves, when we met up with Nancy in the town of Cashiers, even she, who you already know is a road warrior, was catching her breath. Whew! 

Finally we arrived and it was as beautiful as I remembered. Rustic beautiful is maybe the descriptor that some folks might use. It is not only the history of the place but the peacefulness and expansiveness that appeals to me. This is our third stay, each time in a different cabin. The Coyote Lodge is the grandest of the ten.

Rocking chairs both upstairs and down, we spent a lot of time on them in the morning and evening. The swings too, were great.

Here's one view taken from that big porch.

Before everyone arrived Nancy and I took a walk to the Bamboo Forest. Plus we walked through it, the heavy cover was welcome shade on that super hot afternoon.

We walked around the big lake,

where those big pink blooms were, as well as loads of Goldenrod all over the property.

Finally, after Jonathan and Alissa's flight snags, everyone arrived after a short drive from the Asheville airport and rooms were chosen, leaving the stairs to the younger folk. 

They were bemused by the rustic decorations, none more so than upon seeing the lodge namesake.

The above was taken a few days into our stay with the coyote sharing space with all manner of our hats, bags, and very much appreciated bug spray! 

From the upper level it looks like this.

It was so comfortable with multiple couches, large and I do mean large chairs with big ottomans, and not just the bar for eating, but four picnic tables as well. Honestly should you care to do something like this, we cannot recommend it enough. 

Four bedrooms and four bathrooms along with seating on the upper and lower level porches as well as a what I believe would be labeled a mezzanine with these super comfy rocking chairs.

So now what? We have an awesome place to stay, what do we do now? Because we have been here before we made the suggestion that we go to see the nearby Looking Glass falls in Pisgah National Forest.  Situated alongside the road going through the forest, it was an easy first choice.

Lush would be one way to describe things here in North Carolina at this time of year. While Jonathan is on the rocks in the hat and blue shirt, Nancy is making her way back up the stairs.

Meanwhile Matt and Tom were going from rock to rock with Jonathan joining them.

For those of you new to this space, that would be our eldest, Matt on the left, and Jonathan, our youngest, on the right. 

What happened with the rest of that day, for the life of me I am drawing a blank, at least for now anyway. I do remember some stargazing and firefly spotting from the front porch ,as well as some very good laughs when I tried to use the hula hoop. Nancy had brought one and it lit up when used. As it turned out, even our master hula hooper struggled to get it going, but that was rectified a few days later when a standard one was purchased at WalMart. Let the hooping begin!

And really, anything else that strikes our fancy, because as all of you know, should you have been following this blog for very long, now that our children are all safe and secure, we are "doing all that we can, while we can." Having lost two sisters, one of whom died while we were staying at Deerwoode, how precious life and good health are becomes something we no longer take for granted.  

We stayed in another cabin when Maureen died which I wrote about here. 

We had some adventures that I will write about next time, but for now we were so grateful to be able to spend the time with part of our family. Plus, I was happy to see the birdhouses which have all had a fresh coat of paint.

Now, if only I had seen more birds!!

your friend,

Gail

A Half-Century Milestone

Our marriage began much like others in 1973 with a traditional ceremony followed by a cake and punch reception in the fellowship hall at Grace Covenant Presbyterian church. Don Debevoise was the minister at the time and he insisted we attend marriage classes with him before he would perform the wedding. Did we pay attention? Hard to remember now, but something worked didn't it?

It rained about an hour before the wedding, not unusual for a hot August day in Florida, however, I think I was worried it would keep folks away. Maybe it did or maybe not, but mostly I remember someone telling me that it was good luck to have rain on your wedding day so perhaps that is part of the secret to having a marriage that lasts a lifetime?  

Or maybe it is because we met so young and grew up together? It is like asking a centurion what is the secret to living such a long life? There is no explanation except that we knew that we loved one another and wanted to spend our lives together even as young teenagers. Bruce's parents were far more supportive than mine who thought we were too young to know what love is. A fine example they were....NOT. I wish I could say that they were great role models in that regard, but that would be lying. Of course children observe ways to be and ways not to be and we both learned from our experiences growing up. Although Bruce's parents were married a long time, his dad was not always the ideal husband. It is hard to explain so don't get any wild ideas about abuse or anything, but suffice it to say that what Bruce took from his experience is to "be kind." Furthermore, he would never tolerate the boys being mean to their mother as sometimes teenage boys are wont to do. 

The bridesmaids wore pink, homemade shortsleeved dresses with white trim and a wide-brimmed white hat with a pink ribbon. Maybe they carried roses although don't quote me on that. As to who made the dresses I also can't say but since the wedding party on the ladies side consisted of my sisters Lisa, Carol and Nancy, along with Bruce's sister Michelle, it is entirely possible they made their own because everyone knew how to sew back then. Except Lisa, I'm pretty sure she never took to it. Our sister Maureen, being somewhat of a rebel in those days, chose to go to Mexico rather than attend the wedding. That said, I received a beautiful reminder this week from my brother Pat, who was a groomsman that day,  and I am going to just let him express it: "Anyway all went well and to this day I can see Harold Aubuchon singing the Lord's Prayer, a memory that will stay with witnesses forever I reckon." I mention Maureen because Harold Aubuchon was her former father-in-law when she was married to Bill Aubuchon. Thus, I knew him and his wonderful voice as part of a barbershop quartet. Do you think that kind of music is still around? 

Pat's memory and his eloquent way of relating it nearly brought me to tears as I had forgotten how beautiful that was. Another song sung that day was "More". I suspect he sang that as well, but again, you do know my memory! HERE is an amazing recording by Bobby Darin. Gosh, I still love both the song and the sentiment. If you prefer Andy Williams, check this out.  Should you care to go down an internet rabbit hole, turns out everybody who was anyone back then covered it and you can find most of it on YouTube. The Supremes on Ed Sullivan, oh my, oh my! 

On the men's side of things, Cris, Bruce's brother was his best man, with my brother Pat, Billy James, Jimmy Fransisco and Mike Osborne rounding out the party. Cris is not well these days, and we only learned a week or so ago that Mike had died earlier this year in Colorado. Both Maureen and Carol have died, all of which makes me sad yet grateful to still be relatively healthy and definitely happy!! Speaking of happy, as most teenagers did back then when they began going "steady" they had a song. Ours was and still is, Happy Together by the Turtles. Thank God for YouTube! Reading the comments brought this old lady to tears as there were many who claimed that it was just as important to them as it was to us. I insist that you click on that link with a guarantee that it will be worth your while!

Should I include the part about how we left Orlando, after spending a little bit of time at his parent's home where the adults could enjoy adult beverages, and drove to St. Augustine in our baby blue VW hatchback? Probably. 

 Arriving in town around 9PM, back when St. Augustine was much smaller, every restaurant was closed so we ended up at a McDonalds to get something to eat. Having told the story many times, I remember it very well. I looked at my ring with awe and asked Bruce if he thought anyone could tell we were married only hours earlier? His answer I don't quite remember though. I suspect there was plenty of over-spending on weddings in those days, but I did not know anyone who did so. Even then I knew it was about the marriage and the wedding was merely a formality. Asking people to travel far and wide for a wedding would never have occurred to me although I suppose I was living a sheltered life. Or a Protestant one anyway!

Of course it all began years earlier when we began going "steady" when I was 13 and Bruce was 14. What a dreamboat he was to look at and sweet as can be. Still is for that matter! Bruce tells the story that we met at Lake Como Elementary School when I was in 6th grade and attending a summer school there. While I don't remember that, I do remember him from the church youth group at Grace Covenant. We sang in the choir together, if you can imagine. Neither of us has a singing voice, so I suspect we agreed to it to be near one another. We had a lot of fun in those days and the wonder of it all is that we are still doing so to this day. 

A huge heartbreak and I guess a test of our relationship, was when my Dad came home one day near the end of 10th grade, announcing to the family that he had purchased a home and we were moving over the summer to Melbourne where he had been commuting for nine years. As an adult, I get the decision, but it was painful to this young couple who were so much in love. Bruce worked as a bus boy at what was then called the Robert Myer Motor Inn across the street from Lake Eola, using his tip money to call me long distance from a pay phone. Remember long distance? Once he had a car he would drive over to Melbourne for the weekend, something in retrospect I can't imagine, but anyway he would stay with the family and for the life of me I can only remember us going to the beach on occasion. What I do remember from my end was riding the Greyhound bus to Orlando, as well as a man who worked with my dad, maybe Mike something or other,  who would give me a ride in his VW bug to see Bruce. We played a lot of canasta whiling away the weekends. 

Young people today wait a long time to get married, however, following high school graduation I returned to Orlando to attend x-ray school at Winter Park Memorial Hospital for the 24 month program and we married a month or so after graduation. At the same time Bruce was attending a four year apprenticeship with the Carpenters union to become a journeyman carpenter. He still had a ways to go, but with my income we figured we could make it work so FINALLY, after six years of "going steady" we married on August 18, 1973.

Three years later we had Matthew, followed by a year in California as the Orlando jobs were nil and none but plentiful out there. This Orlando girl hated Southern California and although Bruce loved his job he agreed to come home, one of many sacrifices he has made for me. While packing up to come home I discovered I was pregnant, not an ideal time, but those things happen. Two months later we had one of the great surprises of our life when we discovered we were having twins. Holy Cow! In those days twins were uncommon and identical twins even more so which meant that there was not the industry that there is today to support multiple births. And no, as we discovered, identical twins do not run in families. Fraternal yes, but not identical. Oy vey! 25 years old and we are set to have two more children with no health insurance? Both the hospital and the gynecologist insisted on full payment ahead of time so those were some lean times. Fortunately we managed, but I would be lying if I said it was an easy time for any of us. 

And then along came Jonathan. Enough is enough, right?

So many, many memories, honestly, mostly all good. Aside from the year in California and the one in Vancouver, our life has unfolded in Orlando. As I type this in Murphy, NC, I am grateful beyond measure for our life together and the family that has come to be. This past week two of our sons and their loved ones, along with sister Nancy spent time together in Brevard, NC where we had loads of adventures and lots of fun, including nighttime hoola hooping with a lighted hoop. Have you heard of a game called Heads Up? Loads of fun was had with that crazy game. Tubing, we did that too and I will relate some of the highlights soon.  Let's just say that I had no idea tubing was a participation sport!

We missed Bill, David, Michelle and Fallon, but maybe another time we can all be together again.

How do you condense so many years together? You don't. Cliff notes here. :)

your friend,

Gail

p.s. I neglected to mention I wore pale pink! 

Closer to Home

Our second home that is. 

We like to think of it as such, at least for now. Departing from my field trip posts, I thought before we head out for our anniversary trip to Brevard Sunday morning, I would catch up a bit on how we spend our time around town.  But first, a little color in the sky taken from the screen porch.

We were heading downtown for some reason or other and the sky above the Hiwassee River looked more ominous than things turned out to be. One thing to note is the depth of the water. As I type, the water level is being lowered somehow by the TVA. How they do it is a mystery, as is so much about our life here.

And we are okay with mystery because in my book it makes life more interesting, probably a sentiment not shared by all, otherwise Google would not be one of the biggest companies in the world! 

As for a colored sky picture, let's do one more of the sweet downtown as the sun sets.

I neglected to ask Laura what happens when the abundant flowers, and I mean abundant,

dies back in the fall? The beds have gotten remarkably huge. Interestingly enough this little alley has benefited from seeds flying in the breeze.

Along with a man named Carl, Bruce and I helped set up this table of mostly goods fashioned by the church members for the monthly art walk. I suggested to Carl that we let Bruce have free reign for the table set up as he has lots of experience in that realm, having set up my booth for years.

The proceeds, such as they are, go to local charities. One item on the table, on a recent Sunday after the service, made it's way into my possession and that would be some old fashioned pot holders which are the perfect size and work like a charm.

Speaking of kitchen tools, I was hankering for some wooden spoons and found some at WalMart, however, when I brought them home I did not like the feel of them as the handles were just too cumbersome. No problem Gail, I can make them thinner and so he did. Do you see the difference?

Much better! 

Back to the art walk momentarily because this was just too good not to include in the memories documented in this space. While we were behind the table waiting for interested parties, a woman walked by on the sidewalk with a miniature horse. Yup, you read it right. Naturally I had a camera but I couldn't get it out fast enough so I followed her into a nearby shop. 

If I had not seen it with my own two eyes I might be tempted to think someone made up the notion of a 
"support animal" in the form of a small horse. 

Perhaps there are friends in Orlando who have vegetable gardens, but I can't think of any off hand. Donna brings vegetables, while others bring eggs to the pickleball court. Country living at its finest.

Adjacent to the courts is the health center where Bruce does his weight training, and I, occasionally, swim in this pool.

There are large garage doors on either side and one end that they open up in summer. And while the pool is heated, it is a little chilly when you first get in, at least for me. 

One afternoon we went to the Murphy Art Center after meeting a couple who are heavily involved in both exhibiting and the operation of the place. I was particularly enamored with the hanging quilt below using Kaffe Fasset fabric.

The tote bag is pretty great too. 

Actually those folks we met live adjacent to this beautiful display of just-coming-into bloom row of Crepe Myrtles.

That is a sweet little church on the corner where perhaps the wedding below took place? I was walking along and crossed the street when I came across this scene. A spectacular photo bomb for you.

I actually have a clear shot, but this one kind of makes me laugh. As I mentioned earlier in this post, the water in the river is diminishing so I keep walking it to see what happens next. Coming across this memorial I was very grateful for Mr. Manchester's efforts, along with everyone else responsible for this great asset.

Everyone's favorite North Carolina grocery store, Ingles, includes two bouquets of flowers in the restrooms. How nice is that?

I was kind of matching that day!

Apparently during Covid, Burger Boy became much more popular and one reason, at least as far as we can tell, is because their food is good and made to order. The front parking lot was full the other day so heading behind the building we were somewhat surprised to find this. 

And no, it is not a shop!

Life is full of surprises, don't you think? We finally walked to the end of the road we are living on, something we had not felt comfortable doing before due to some ominous signs posted warning to stay back. Now that we have met the folks that live in both of the occupied houses, we gained permission and were completely surprised that the road ends like this.

A gate keeps uninvited guests out however we learned from John and Laura, who are invited guests btw, that there is a lake back there. How about that?

Here is a super funny surprise that happened today. We were rained out in the morning for pickleball so after heading to the bank we stopped in a couple of thrift stores where I picked up this cookbook. I opened it and saw it was a signed copy.

Dr. Ruth in Murphy?? Wonders never cease. 

A few photos of our bird friends.

A Male Goldfinch.

Goldfinch eat often and a lot. We hope the feeder lasts during our absence!

Don't be jealous Florida friends!

Lastly before I go, here's a funny little story with a happy ending. Because we are driving to Brevard for our anniversary celebration, a long distance Thursday field trip, especially because it was raining, was not in the cards. Instead, I suggested we return to a place just six miles from town called Hanging Dog Recreation Area. Probably three weeks ago, early on a Sunday morning we drove there to check it out before church. Except, driving down the road leading to the place, we encountered a log blocking the road, so we turned around and went home.  Well guess what? Oh, you have guessed already haven't you? And you would be correct on this morning.

This time instead of turning around and going home, we parked the car alongside the road, climbed over the fallen tree and started walking for how far we were not sure. Remember what I said about surprises? Oh my goodness my jaw nearly dropped when we saw this, which made the walk very much worthwhile.

I know what you are thinking, how did you not know what it looked like what with Google and all? Not any online picture looked like the above which is why I was surprised. Delighted is more like it!

After soaking in the beauty, and btw, we were the only folks there, we walked back to the car with Bruce, unsurprisingly, taking the lead. I hollered out from my position at the bottom of the rise, "can you see the car yet?" Indeed, we were there.

On our way back to town we stopped and mentioned the tree to two policeman who seemed in no hurry to call it in. And yes, Bruce did when we got home!!

So, we are heading to Brevard, as mentioned above to stay for four nights at Deerwoode Reserve where we have stayed two other times. Jonathan and Alissa are coming from Austin and Matt and Tom are coming from London and we could not be happier. Nancy just arrived and she will be joining us here and there. 

Happy 50th to two young kids who fell in love 57 years ago!! Here's to many more years of adventures together!!

your friend,

Gail