Some Events and Some Decorating

Unlike my last post when I was bragging on the cool temperatures,  the heat has definitely found us. As have the mosquitoes which are having a heyday biting your favorite blogger! Oh my gosh! Apparently our year, (give or take a month or two), of living amidst the mountain where mosquitoes are few and far between, did not prepare me for living a few blocks from the river which is very high right now. I do remember, and I've mentioned it before, how John called it a lake when we arrived in the summer which confused me because I had not seen it otherwise. Since that time I have posted many photos of the river both full and barely covering the rocks it runs over. It was fun the other day to see folks in a kayak paddling on the river as we played pickleball just steps away. So while writing this I am scratching myself like a madwoman! No longer will I go out without bug spray, or so I say. 

Hydrangeas have to be one of the most wonderful flowers to ever bloom. My goodness what I have been missing not having them in my life before now. There must be fifty or so on the bush now, however, after weeks of blooming, I think their days are numbered. But maybe not? What do I know?

The Rose of Sharon has begun blooming and I can't wait to show you that in my next post.

Let's do events first, shall we? First up was the Forks and Corks event which showcases local, well, you get it, food, wine and beer. Beer of course does not fit the title, but there is a local brewery so bring it on for those who prefer that libation. Anyway, it was held in a venue I'd only seen from the outside before and the inside did not disappoint.

Above is the courtyard and it is a welcoming space with, oh my goodness, Oak Leaf hydrangeas for the win!

Inside was very cool with a good crowd who came to sample the offerings. We met up with Gene and Lisa, as well as their friends from Knoxville. 

The fellow in green is my new gynecologist which is slightly weird, but there it is anyway. Laura sent me his way and his staff is just wonderful.  The place is called The Hackney which definitely brings fond memories to the forefront as Matt and Tom where married at Hackney Town Hall in London. Anyway, it was a very fun time, put on by the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce, on Thursday night.

Friday night was the monthly Art Walk and thank God it was nice and dry, unlike the previous month when it was marred by torrential rain. Thinking of that night, it was the day we bought the house! 

Something that is very prevalent here is live music. Not only do they have live music on the lawn adjacent to the location of the photograph above, but they have someone inside who we thought was quite good.

Saturday night we went out to the John C. Campbell Folk School to an annual event called Empty Bowls. For a donation, you lined up and chose one of the pottery bowls, made there at the school.

Pictured holding his bowl is our Duke summer intern at the church. He will spend ten weeks in Murphy learning more about how to run a church once he graduates. Get this...his name is John Murphy! Once we had our bowls we were seated in the dining rooms of the school and treated to a delicious soup and salad meal along with tremendous, and I do mean tremendous, homemade bread and dessert.

The folks at our table had traveled from as far away as Franklin to attend the event. Much of our dinner conversation revolved around gardening as it is very popular here. One of the ladies told us about garden bags, something we'd never heard of before. Any of you ever used them? If the reviews are any indication, they are popular in many more places than Murphy, NC!

Because field trips have taken a back seat for the time being, we had not been out to the school to see the gardens, so taking this opportunity to do so made sense. While I roamed around with my camera, your favorite bloggers husband was engaging in one of his favorite past times, looking something up on Google!

For reasons unknown to me, the gardens were a great disappointment this time around. They did have a considerable amount of vegetables growing, 

as well as sunflowers, 

but the flowers were few and far between.

I guess we will just have to return in a month or so. 

Good grief, still on events? Why yes I am.

We were made aware of an event nearby, as in up the hill from here, almost next door to our church, if you are interested in the location and I am betting that you are. Anyway, Shannon who lives behind us, put together a fund raising event for Colby, who also lives nearly behind us, because he has had surgery and is unable to work for some time period. As is often the case, so we have discovered, you could hear the music from our porch. Later Sunday afternoon we walked there to see what it was all about. Live music for sure! The singer in this band turned out to be the same one who performed at the Thursday night event. 

She was terrific and when she finished her set I went and told her so. Turns out she is from Tampa and performed around town there for the last forty years. We look forward to seeing her again. While we were sitting, a woman next to me began chatting. No surprise there! 

Linda is from Mississippi, but  for the last year she has been traveling the country in a van equipped with solar power enabling her to boondock, or so it is called when you can camp anywhere. Should you care to know more, read this. Her story was a interesting one and we enjoyed her company while we were there. She even bought Bruce a beer! The event ended just as some rain clouds moved in so we got home as fast as our little feet would take us! Just in the nick of time. Although, unfortunately, the rain did not last long. We most definitely could use some. There has been red sky at night all week long.

Finally, moving inside, I finished putting the top together on a new quilt and am awaiting flannel for the inside of it. For once, I am able to lay it out without moving any furniture!

I know it is crazy colorful but am hoping it plays well with the curtains given to me by Fallon and god send I might add as they are blackout curtains. One thing about being in the city is street lights! 

While we were most grateful for what Bill Sr. left, and I might add, everything was in pristine condition, some things are ready for a tune up. So we began making some changes, or a more appropriate description would be that Bruce did! The living room seemed just a tad crowded with three valances so close to the huge crown molding so they came down,

leaving plenty of work for Bruce to transition us over to drapes instead.

Finally we found a white paint that could be used to cover the nail holes! I'd ordered curtains from Ikea, five sets to be exact, hoping they would look good. Because there are blinds, mostly they are just for show although I have discovered they definitely soften the incoming afternoon sun.

Not wanting to completely discount their hard work, we kept the cornice in the dining room and to our eyes it fits perfectly. 

The office had curtains that, while nice, were ready to come down and make way for a refresh.

Now it looks like this.

One reason to buy from Ikea is that their curtains are well made and usually very fun, and as we all know, I am up for some fun in our decorating schemes. Furthermore, they come in 98" length which suited our needs to a tee. 

Before today the last room he did was what we are deeming the guest room. Since we slept in there for two weeks we knew full well that black out curtains were a must. 

Taking the blinds down first, he spackled and sanded all of the holes and then repainted the window frames before installing all of the new hardware. It's quite the job! That said, he is very pleased with the results.

He also spray painted the lamps we purchased because they were as dull as dirt! 

Today while I have been writing, and scratching I might add, he has been doing all of that work in the parlor which I will highlight next post. Talk about some personality, I'm thinking the curtains for there are going to really create a reaction. Good or bad, we are interested in them all.

Lastly, we are still continuing our thrifting ways. In a crazy good find, a woman at the flea market had some glasses that I was interested in. Eventually she said to take all I wanted for $5. Yes ma'am!! I came home with countless glasses and six of these pretty little bowls.

You can find the darnedest things, pretty much everywhere you go, right?

Michelle asked me if we were done and the answer is there seems to always be something we either want or need! A ladder late last week. Another fan today....

Now that will make one's heart flutter.

your friend,

Gail