The rooster has stopped crowing, but the sound of a dog barking fills in the space along with the chirping of crickets. I also hear a lone bird in the distance. The coo of doves and the caw of a crow lines out the sounds of the country. There is also a quiet in the cottage. Nancy and Erin left a little over an hour ago to head back home. We had so much fun and spent a very fun day at the Biltmore Estate. Today I plan to stick around the cottage to let my knee have some additional rest. I woke up with a searing pain in my left knee yesterday, which is my good knee. I hobbled on it all day and did a lot of resting while Nancy and Erin shopped or saw the sights. Happy to do so. The weather was perfect after hearing weather reports predicting an 80% chance of rain. The high was 79 but it mainly stayed around 74 for most of the day. While they toured the house, I went to the lagoon to wait. I got caught up with journaling and did some reading. On our way back to the cottage we stopped at the grocery store and gas station. I am so thankful for Nancy and Erin helping me so I wouldn't have to put any more strain than necessary on my knee. I think all the stairs we did on Thursday and Friday and the slight hill Erin and I had to climb after feeding the goats apples, kind of did me in. I think it is also a good reminder that the livability home in Waynesville needs to be our choice. I'd rather be mobile and drive to better views than have a great view and not be able to do anything.
The cows are laying down in the far field and that is a sign that it might rain. The fog was thick this morning and has cleared around here but the mountains are not visible, only faint outlines of the tallest of peaks. Sitting here on the back porch these past few days has reminded me of summers spent with my Grandma out in the country. We would sit on the front porch and rock and all the cars would bring wonderment to my Grandmother of, where are all these people going? We have driven a lot of the back roads around the cottage with views that stretch for miles, with mobile homes next to million dollar homes. Ah, the drum line practice has started again. School beings August 20th up here. I just checked the Weather app and it looks like 70% chance of rain this afternoon but the good news of a low of 59 makes me very happy.
I am saddened with so many others over the death of Robin Williams. He is the type of actor you think will always be around. His improvisational skills were epic! Although I think my favorite movie of his is Dead Poets Society. I remember reading something in a Ken Gire book written by a young woman who was quite funny and always laughing. She lamented that many times no one looks behind the funny and laughter to see there is more to a person than laughter and being able in making the mundane into the spirited and joyful. Maybe Robin was so manically funny on talk shows because he was so afraid of what was under the mask. Who knows? I certainly don't because I really don't know that much about him other than being a fine actor and comedian. Whenever someone says to me you missed your calling or you should have been a stand up comedienne, I usually answer back, if I did, I would be dead by now. Besides I am moving in my calling and it doesn't have to be on the large stage of audience life. It is being faithful in the small things, the little things that God has called each one of us to.
Whew! Just got a text from Erin that they are outside of Knoxville! Wonderful because Nancy was heading the wrong direction when she called to confirm her choice of route. GPS around here works beautifully, but it seems to want to take you on the most scenic but not efficient way. Scenic is usually good but when you need to be somewhere, it's not.
My friends the cows have moved onto another pasture, so guess I should move on into the rest of the day. Happy reading my friends! That's what I am going to do and it has just now started to rain.
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Monday, August 11, 2014
It's a Biltmore Kind of Day
It is a Biltmore morning for Nancy and Erin...well and me too, but that is a given. We are going to go early for breakfast at the Inn, then Nancy and Erin will tour the house etc. I am trying to decide if I will wait for them on the estate or go off into Asheville until they call me. Who knows? But today will be a very fun day.
Yesterday, I let the girls sleep in because they had a longer than planned drive here. We fixed brunch and got dressed. We headed over to Waynesville to drive past the house we are considering and then stopped at Barber's Produce Stand for apples and a few bakery goods. Across the way is a warehouse type antique mall and we went in search of a chair for Erin's desk. No luck, but I did find some old hymnals that were the right price and 30% off if I paid with cash or check. Such a deal! Our next stop, Mast General Store. On weekends that place is filled and frenzied, not like the easy pace that Erin remembered from her visit in April. Each one of us found something that needed to come home with us, surprise...mine was a book and note cards. If you come this way a stop in The Moose Cafe is called for, so that's where we ate our late lunch/early dinner. Even then, the place was packed. Full of veggies and cobbler, we made our way back to the cottage. Erin and I took apples over to the goats while Nancy took a nap. Then we acted like old people and sat on the porch watching the cars and trucks and motorcycles go by. I had one of my hiking sticks and would shake it at the too fast for the road cars. Ah, the joys of being 60. The temperatures were so cool yesterday that with the breeze I had to go put a sweatshirt on to keep warm on the porch.
Roy said Buddy has been so glad to see him that she has even been sitting on his lap. She rarely does that preferring my lap. I love that they are bonding, but I don't want to lose my rank with her.
The cows are dining in another meadow this morning, but I can hear them moo every so often. In the distant background of sound I hear the drum line of a high school band practicing. The sun is trying to break through the overcast skies. Dare I say it? Truly, the hills are alive with the sound of music....ahhhhahhhhhahhhh......
Yesterday, I let the girls sleep in because they had a longer than planned drive here. We fixed brunch and got dressed. We headed over to Waynesville to drive past the house we are considering and then stopped at Barber's Produce Stand for apples and a few bakery goods. Across the way is a warehouse type antique mall and we went in search of a chair for Erin's desk. No luck, but I did find some old hymnals that were the right price and 30% off if I paid with cash or check. Such a deal! Our next stop, Mast General Store. On weekends that place is filled and frenzied, not like the easy pace that Erin remembered from her visit in April. Each one of us found something that needed to come home with us, surprise...mine was a book and note cards. If you come this way a stop in The Moose Cafe is called for, so that's where we ate our late lunch/early dinner. Even then, the place was packed. Full of veggies and cobbler, we made our way back to the cottage. Erin and I took apples over to the goats while Nancy took a nap. Then we acted like old people and sat on the porch watching the cars and trucks and motorcycles go by. I had one of my hiking sticks and would shake it at the too fast for the road cars. Ah, the joys of being 60. The temperatures were so cool yesterday that with the breeze I had to go put a sweatshirt on to keep warm on the porch.
Roy said Buddy has been so glad to see him that she has even been sitting on his lap. She rarely does that preferring my lap. I love that they are bonding, but I don't want to lose my rank with her.
The cows are dining in another meadow this morning, but I can hear them moo every so often. In the distant background of sound I hear the drum line of a high school band practicing. The sun is trying to break through the overcast skies. Dare I say it? Truly, the hills are alive with the sound of music....ahhhhahhhhhahhhh......
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Thanks Be to Our God
Roy just texted he had boarded the plane and got a primo front row seat with lots of legroom. I know he is a very happy man. Since we aren't too familiar with the Spartenburg/Greenville airport, we left a little early and by doing so, got to stop at a South Carolina peach stand and pick up a bag of fresh peaches and some scuppernong cider. Roy is really getting into all these ciders. It was so easy to drop him off right at the front of the airport. It rained a bit on the trip home and by default I came on back to the cottage instead of stopping at the grocery store. Now I am waiting for Nancy and Erin to arrive.
It rained a lot yesterday. We had a later start to the day because Brian had a closing and a few other things to take care of, so we met him at 1:30. One of the houses we wanted to look at went under contract, so we had a bit of time to kill but it was productive. He drove us through historic Hendersonville and it looks like I might need to make a return trip to investigate what looked to be very cute stores. The first house we saw was surrounded by beautiful mountains but it had more of a subdivision feel to it. They also didn't photograph all the stairs in that home. We have wondered why people are so willing to put such expensive finishes in their homes but yet go a cheap route for the neccesities. The house was beautiful, but not for us. We headed over to Swannanoa via south Asheville. Unbelievable all that is there. We headed toward the two houses we were to see. One being the townhouse that had my attention from the get go that is now off the market temporarily and the other one a townhouse that is similar to it. Once again we liked the off market home and the view but had the struggle of livability verses fantastic views presented itself to us once again. On the way back to the cottage Roy and I did the pro and con discussion. We cannot help but think about our townhouse days early on in our marriage. These homes only have one connecting wall. The landscaping upkeep is on an individual basis so some homes looked fabulous and others...so so. Once again the Waynesville home wins out and is on the top of our list. Livability and a view that can be changed by thinning out some of the trees. But it is awfully hard to let some of those views and wow factor go.
We made another visit to The Moose Cafe for dinner and then returned to the cottage. It was the perfect night as we sat on the front porch and rocked while watching all the fireflies light up the night.
Nancy and Erin arrived last night around 5:15. We've had a blast. They came bearing the gift of a birthday cake. Bill, the owner of the cottage, had told Roy and me about the pizza place in the gas station just a piece up the road. He said it is some of the best pizza he's ever had and it is amazing that pizza that good could come from a gas station. Bill did not lie. We order pizza last night and it was delicious. Here is another good part of the story, this twelve inch pizza loaded with toppings was a grand total of $9.00 bucks. We sat on the back porch eating pizza and watching the sun disappear and the night fall. It is pitch black out there at night. It was an early turn in for all three of us. I think two of us are awake and moving this morning. We are going to have a leisurely day, going around to some of the smaller towns surrounding us and then treating them to the wonder of southern comfort food that is The Moose Cafe.
This morning it is really cool outdoors and the mountains in the distance are fogged in. The cows were so close I could hear them chewing. The birds are plenteous and the wrens and cardinals have provided beauty and entertainment. My heart and soul resound with the praise of, Thanks Be to our God.
It rained a lot yesterday. We had a later start to the day because Brian had a closing and a few other things to take care of, so we met him at 1:30. One of the houses we wanted to look at went under contract, so we had a bit of time to kill but it was productive. He drove us through historic Hendersonville and it looks like I might need to make a return trip to investigate what looked to be very cute stores. The first house we saw was surrounded by beautiful mountains but it had more of a subdivision feel to it. They also didn't photograph all the stairs in that home. We have wondered why people are so willing to put such expensive finishes in their homes but yet go a cheap route for the neccesities. The house was beautiful, but not for us. We headed over to Swannanoa via south Asheville. Unbelievable all that is there. We headed toward the two houses we were to see. One being the townhouse that had my attention from the get go that is now off the market temporarily and the other one a townhouse that is similar to it. Once again we liked the off market home and the view but had the struggle of livability verses fantastic views presented itself to us once again. On the way back to the cottage Roy and I did the pro and con discussion. We cannot help but think about our townhouse days early on in our marriage. These homes only have one connecting wall. The landscaping upkeep is on an individual basis so some homes looked fabulous and others...so so. Once again the Waynesville home wins out and is on the top of our list. Livability and a view that can be changed by thinning out some of the trees. But it is awfully hard to let some of those views and wow factor go.
We made another visit to The Moose Cafe for dinner and then returned to the cottage. It was the perfect night as we sat on the front porch and rocked while watching all the fireflies light up the night.
Nancy and Erin arrived last night around 5:15. We've had a blast. They came bearing the gift of a birthday cake. Bill, the owner of the cottage, had told Roy and me about the pizza place in the gas station just a piece up the road. He said it is some of the best pizza he's ever had and it is amazing that pizza that good could come from a gas station. Bill did not lie. We order pizza last night and it was delicious. Here is another good part of the story, this twelve inch pizza loaded with toppings was a grand total of $9.00 bucks. We sat on the back porch eating pizza and watching the sun disappear and the night fall. It is pitch black out there at night. It was an early turn in for all three of us. I think two of us are awake and moving this morning. We are going to have a leisurely day, going around to some of the smaller towns surrounding us and then treating them to the wonder of southern comfort food that is The Moose Cafe.
This morning it is really cool outdoors and the mountains in the distance are fogged in. The cows were so close I could hear them chewing. The birds are plenteous and the wrens and cardinals have provided beauty and entertainment. My heart and soul resound with the praise of, Thanks Be to our God.
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Thursday's Adventure of House Hunting in the Mountains
Happy Saturday Morning! The cows have gone to another pasture for breakfast, the rooster is crowing and the sun is trying to shine through the clouds. But the birds are singing and the crickets are cricketing which makes everything seem all right in Alexander this morning.
Wednesday afternoon after unloading the car and getting a brief rest , we headed over to Weaverville to buy groceries. It is a beautiful drive to go pick up supplies. When we returned to the cottage we put everything up and unpacked our suitcases and settle in. It was not a late night for me because we had to be up early Thursday to meet Brian, our real estate agent, at the bagel shop close to the Biltmore. I was conflicted because a huge part of me wanted to stay around and ease into the day but the bigger part of me and the forward looking part of me knew we needed to head out and begin our search for our home in the mountains. We love Brian and he had seven homes for us to see on Thursday, one in Canton and everything else in the Waynesville area. I quickly began to realize as we journeyed to the first home, to have fabulous long range mountain views, one must travel up the mountain...on twisting and turning narrow streets. The home was beautiful but we quickly realized the floor plan was not workable for how we envision living to be. But what a view! The second home we visited was in Canton. Now there are things one learns while looking at homes and Canton is home to a huge paper mill and paper mills have a distinct odor about them. For some it is the smell of money but for most it is a hideous and unwelcomed fragrance. The home we liked in Canton was awesome, with tons of upgrades, an ok view but there lurking in all that beauty is the fragrance of paper being made. The home had been built by a couple with unlimited funds but they over spent and will not get the value of the home. This home had started out at $400,000 but the price had dropped over a $105,000. The third home we saw was out in the country with fabulous views, a finished basement, two guest rooms upstairs, the master and laundry on the main floor, a chicken coup and a rather large building for storage and upgrading. The gazebo sat on the edge of the ridge for a beautiful pastoral view combined with the long range view. I had loved this home from the beginning while searching online and this home jumped to the top of the list for Roy. We would also be able to buy another acre of land to insure our view for a long time. The next few houses we saw were total busts. Let's just say someone had a great photographer. Then adventure time as we drove up and up and up some more to the top of the world it would seem. Winding, scary paved and gravel roads. This house truly had the feel of a second home and one would have to be an ardent list follower because you would never want to make a useless trip down the mountain to buy stuff you forgot. Wonderful view and a little nerve wrecking drive....the fear of driving that road did it for me. Off the list. Brian took us to see the last home for the day. It is a home that had gotten my attention from the first day it was listed. It is a little outside of Waynesville and very near to the Blue Ridge Parkway. In fact some of the view is looking over the parkway. The floor plan was everything we needed it to be and there would just be minor fixes like painting...totally move in ready on the big stuff. The owner has great taste in the little details as well as the big ones. It gave me the most room for living with my limited knee mobility and Roy a man cave, a great deck and small backyard, plenty of room for guests but....the view is moderately good. There in lies the conflict. Go with less living room for me for the view or go with the comfort of a well planned home with lots of livability and less of a view.
Roy and I discussed this all evening as we went about life. We made dinner with tons of fresh veggies and then decided to go to Wal Mart for a couple of things we had forgotten on our grocery list and also hoping for a wider selection on some items. Oh.MY. WorD!!! It has been many years since I have been at Wal Mart yet it seemed as if nothing had changed. We did not see one person who looked or dressed like us. It was Appalachia at its finest. The sound of banjo music played in my head. Otherwise we found everything we needed and made a quick dash out to the car. That is mainly due to the time it took to check out and we had Skinny Cow ice cream bars.
Through this process I am learning so much about water wells and septic systems. Basement verses crawl space. Propane is the gas of choice which seems strange coming from a natural gas area. There are a few more areas I would like to explore and will begin the search online once again as we continue to think about where to live. But for now I will stop. The tree next to the screened porch is full of birds, wrens, humming birds, robins, mockingbirds and a few other unidentifiable birds. Thankfully, I have a birding book in my possession. I am such a nerd.
Wednesday afternoon after unloading the car and getting a brief rest , we headed over to Weaverville to buy groceries. It is a beautiful drive to go pick up supplies. When we returned to the cottage we put everything up and unpacked our suitcases and settle in. It was not a late night for me because we had to be up early Thursday to meet Brian, our real estate agent, at the bagel shop close to the Biltmore. I was conflicted because a huge part of me wanted to stay around and ease into the day but the bigger part of me and the forward looking part of me knew we needed to head out and begin our search for our home in the mountains. We love Brian and he had seven homes for us to see on Thursday, one in Canton and everything else in the Waynesville area. I quickly began to realize as we journeyed to the first home, to have fabulous long range mountain views, one must travel up the mountain...on twisting and turning narrow streets. The home was beautiful but we quickly realized the floor plan was not workable for how we envision living to be. But what a view! The second home we visited was in Canton. Now there are things one learns while looking at homes and Canton is home to a huge paper mill and paper mills have a distinct odor about them. For some it is the smell of money but for most it is a hideous and unwelcomed fragrance. The home we liked in Canton was awesome, with tons of upgrades, an ok view but there lurking in all that beauty is the fragrance of paper being made. The home had been built by a couple with unlimited funds but they over spent and will not get the value of the home. This home had started out at $400,000 but the price had dropped over a $105,000. The third home we saw was out in the country with fabulous views, a finished basement, two guest rooms upstairs, the master and laundry on the main floor, a chicken coup and a rather large building for storage and upgrading. The gazebo sat on the edge of the ridge for a beautiful pastoral view combined with the long range view. I had loved this home from the beginning while searching online and this home jumped to the top of the list for Roy. We would also be able to buy another acre of land to insure our view for a long time. The next few houses we saw were total busts. Let's just say someone had a great photographer. Then adventure time as we drove up and up and up some more to the top of the world it would seem. Winding, scary paved and gravel roads. This house truly had the feel of a second home and one would have to be an ardent list follower because you would never want to make a useless trip down the mountain to buy stuff you forgot. Wonderful view and a little nerve wrecking drive....the fear of driving that road did it for me. Off the list. Brian took us to see the last home for the day. It is a home that had gotten my attention from the first day it was listed. It is a little outside of Waynesville and very near to the Blue Ridge Parkway. In fact some of the view is looking over the parkway. The floor plan was everything we needed it to be and there would just be minor fixes like painting...totally move in ready on the big stuff. The owner has great taste in the little details as well as the big ones. It gave me the most room for living with my limited knee mobility and Roy a man cave, a great deck and small backyard, plenty of room for guests but....the view is moderately good. There in lies the conflict. Go with less living room for me for the view or go with the comfort of a well planned home with lots of livability and less of a view.
Roy and I discussed this all evening as we went about life. We made dinner with tons of fresh veggies and then decided to go to Wal Mart for a couple of things we had forgotten on our grocery list and also hoping for a wider selection on some items. Oh.MY. WorD!!! It has been many years since I have been at Wal Mart yet it seemed as if nothing had changed. We did not see one person who looked or dressed like us. It was Appalachia at its finest. The sound of banjo music played in my head. Otherwise we found everything we needed and made a quick dash out to the car. That is mainly due to the time it took to check out and we had Skinny Cow ice cream bars.
Through this process I am learning so much about water wells and septic systems. Basement verses crawl space. Propane is the gas of choice which seems strange coming from a natural gas area. There are a few more areas I would like to explore and will begin the search online once again as we continue to think about where to live. But for now I will stop. The tree next to the screened porch is full of birds, wrens, humming birds, robins, mockingbirds and a few other unidentifiable birds. Thankfully, I have a birding book in my possession. I am such a nerd.
Friday, August 8, 2014
Reunion, Birthdays and a Mid Day Train in Georgia...Whoo Hoo....
Greetings from the other side of fifty nine and from the state of North Carolina. Due to both the state of my birthday, traveling and house hunting, I have not had the time to sit down and write anything yet I have so many thoughts to put down on iPad and paper. I have yet to journal since before leaving. It is a cool Friday morning and I am sitting out on the screened in back porch listening to the rain and watching the cows graze. Yesterday was nature day because I saw so many birds, including hummingbirds outside our window, a red robin, woodchucks, bunnies, and the baby goats next door cried out a welcome greeting or maybe that was hey all the other guests come over here and throw apples over the fence to us. Be patient little goats, all in good time.
Sunday morning we were on the road by 4:20 am and headed toward Blue Ridge Georgia. We did a hard first day's drive and made it to Chattanooga with time to grab some dinner at the El Matador. Not too bad of Mexican food outside the state of Texas. By doing a hard day's driving we were only an hour and a half from our destination and my cousin reunion. Lois had found a great house with five bedrooms set on a beautiful, sky gazing, gorgeous view ridge. Since we have not seen each other in a very long time we had a very fun afternoon of catching up. We went out for my birthday dinner to a local place with a buffet of every you could ever think of in southern food. Yum and I chose peach cobbler as my dessert of choice to finish off the meal. My cousin Becky and her husband rode along with us and after eating, we didn't go straight back to the house but looked around and discovered the scenic Blue Ridge Railway. Roy and Becky signed up for the train adventure for their Tuesday excursion. I felt like I couldn't give that much time to a train and opted out but I did get away with my thoughts for some time alone to write, with a little shopping thrown in, you know just to keep in practice. Roy and Becky would have several hours in MaCaysville for lunch and shopping, so I decided to drive over that way and surprise them. They detrained before I arrived but after a phone call I found them having lunch at George's BBQ. NC is more of a pork than a brisket BBQ state, so the pulled pork was delicious. We shopped and Roy took multitudes of pictures. We were right there at the Tenn/GA state line, so you know being in two states at a time is a whole lot of fun picture taking. They got back on the train and I took my time heading back stopping at a few antique stores and a Methodist Church. The church was a little white chapel and behind it under huge shade trees was a cross and the Ten Commandments whittled and shaped from the plenteous supply of timber from the area. A rooster stood in front of them and at first I thought it was part of the display and I pondered the denial of Jesus by Peter with the cross and The Ten Commandments when quite by surprise being startled that it was a real rooster who looked like he had pecking my legs on his mind. The train pulled into the station around 3:00 and we did the typical Roy thing, let's go find a DQ for a blizzard. After getting our DQ on we went to the famous Mercier to look around. Oh my goodness...everything apple and then some. It is now apple season in these here parts. We got fried pies for later, some peach hard cider and of course I found books that needed a home with me. Just like a train can, I just got derailed from my original story....after my birthday dinner, Becky went to DQ for an ice cream cake, a tradition in their immediate family. That my friends is a good tradition! We came back and opened gifts rather I opened gifts, from Lois and Scott a good book by Francine Rivers and from Becky and John a pottery piece for my desk...to hold all my vast collection of pens and pencils and a candle that has a wonderful fragrance.
My cousin Mark and his wife Carol from Iowa were there, we were only missing my brother Doug who couldn't get away for business reasons. Funny, it does not seem that long ago that we five cousins would sit upstairs at our grandparent's home wondering what the adults downstairs were talking about. We would send one brave soul to sneak down the squeaky steps to spy and no matter who was sent down on mission and we all had the same report....BORING! To anyone younger than us and if they were there, they would have thought the same as us all those many years ago...but we would beg to differ with them.
Wednesday morning Roy woke up bright and early, ready to hit the road and get here to the farm. We had several stops to make along the way and Google Maps doesn't quite understand the terrain and it will take more time than they estimate to arrive. Before leaving Blue Ridge and after saying goodbye to my cousins, we made a quick stop at Mercier's to pick up a few more things...read fried pies in that vague description and some regular cider. The muscadine tastes like communion juice and with that we also got cherry apple cider. We stopped in Murphy at a local place downtown and then Roy had a field day taking pictures of the quaint town with stunning architecture. We stopped at a produce stand and got heirloom tomatoes and an orange tomato. Right before Waynesville is Barber's Produce and they had just opened on August 1st for the season that lasts almost to the end of the year. We stopped in and picked up peaches and apples. Then headed to Mast General store to return shoes I had bought in April. When you stop at Mast, you must take a look see around the store and we did just that. Such a fun place. A late lunch at The Moose Cafe and we headed toward Alexander, NC. We were greeted by the owners with fresh picked corn straight out of their field. We made a quick trip to the grocery store and then I went to sleep cause Thursday morning would begin rather early on our house hunting adventure.....and dear friends, I will leave you there to continue later.
Sunday morning we were on the road by 4:20 am and headed toward Blue Ridge Georgia. We did a hard first day's drive and made it to Chattanooga with time to grab some dinner at the El Matador. Not too bad of Mexican food outside the state of Texas. By doing a hard day's driving we were only an hour and a half from our destination and my cousin reunion. Lois had found a great house with five bedrooms set on a beautiful, sky gazing, gorgeous view ridge. Since we have not seen each other in a very long time we had a very fun afternoon of catching up. We went out for my birthday dinner to a local place with a buffet of every you could ever think of in southern food. Yum and I chose peach cobbler as my dessert of choice to finish off the meal. My cousin Becky and her husband rode along with us and after eating, we didn't go straight back to the house but looked around and discovered the scenic Blue Ridge Railway. Roy and Becky signed up for the train adventure for their Tuesday excursion. I felt like I couldn't give that much time to a train and opted out but I did get away with my thoughts for some time alone to write, with a little shopping thrown in, you know just to keep in practice. Roy and Becky would have several hours in MaCaysville for lunch and shopping, so I decided to drive over that way and surprise them. They detrained before I arrived but after a phone call I found them having lunch at George's BBQ. NC is more of a pork than a brisket BBQ state, so the pulled pork was delicious. We shopped and Roy took multitudes of pictures. We were right there at the Tenn/GA state line, so you know being in two states at a time is a whole lot of fun picture taking. They got back on the train and I took my time heading back stopping at a few antique stores and a Methodist Church. The church was a little white chapel and behind it under huge shade trees was a cross and the Ten Commandments whittled and shaped from the plenteous supply of timber from the area. A rooster stood in front of them and at first I thought it was part of the display and I pondered the denial of Jesus by Peter with the cross and The Ten Commandments when quite by surprise being startled that it was a real rooster who looked like he had pecking my legs on his mind. The train pulled into the station around 3:00 and we did the typical Roy thing, let's go find a DQ for a blizzard. After getting our DQ on we went to the famous Mercier to look around. Oh my goodness...everything apple and then some. It is now apple season in these here parts. We got fried pies for later, some peach hard cider and of course I found books that needed a home with me. Just like a train can, I just got derailed from my original story....after my birthday dinner, Becky went to DQ for an ice cream cake, a tradition in their immediate family. That my friends is a good tradition! We came back and opened gifts rather I opened gifts, from Lois and Scott a good book by Francine Rivers and from Becky and John a pottery piece for my desk...to hold all my vast collection of pens and pencils and a candle that has a wonderful fragrance.
My cousin Mark and his wife Carol from Iowa were there, we were only missing my brother Doug who couldn't get away for business reasons. Funny, it does not seem that long ago that we five cousins would sit upstairs at our grandparent's home wondering what the adults downstairs were talking about. We would send one brave soul to sneak down the squeaky steps to spy and no matter who was sent down on mission and we all had the same report....BORING! To anyone younger than us and if they were there, they would have thought the same as us all those many years ago...but we would beg to differ with them.
Wednesday morning Roy woke up bright and early, ready to hit the road and get here to the farm. We had several stops to make along the way and Google Maps doesn't quite understand the terrain and it will take more time than they estimate to arrive. Before leaving Blue Ridge and after saying goodbye to my cousins, we made a quick stop at Mercier's to pick up a few more things...read fried pies in that vague description and some regular cider. The muscadine tastes like communion juice and with that we also got cherry apple cider. We stopped in Murphy at a local place downtown and then Roy had a field day taking pictures of the quaint town with stunning architecture. We stopped at a produce stand and got heirloom tomatoes and an orange tomato. Right before Waynesville is Barber's Produce and they had just opened on August 1st for the season that lasts almost to the end of the year. We stopped in and picked up peaches and apples. Then headed to Mast General store to return shoes I had bought in April. When you stop at Mast, you must take a look see around the store and we did just that. Such a fun place. A late lunch at The Moose Cafe and we headed toward Alexander, NC. We were greeted by the owners with fresh picked corn straight out of their field. We made a quick trip to the grocery store and then I went to sleep cause Thursday morning would begin rather early on our house hunting adventure.....and dear friends, I will leave you there to continue later.
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Kick....
I got up way too early this morning because Consuelo called last night and asked if she could come today and I asked her three times morning or afternoon. She said morning all three times. So this morning, waiting for her to arrive I busied myself with a few things and more time went by until it was the time to check in with her. Oh no, she said afternoon. She knows I HATE Wednesday afternoons. So I am leaving written instructions and added be done by 5:00. Not a happy camper at this moment and I need to leave before she gets here because I don't know if I would be able to mask my aggravation.
So on my last Wednesday of my fifties I got up early and acted a little cranky. But I have gotten a couple of needed things done for our trip. Buddy knows something is up and she is my little gray shadow. I think I have taken care of the little details that sometimes get over looked or rushed through at the last minute. Not time to pack clothes yet but getting stuff gathered.
On my last Thursday in my fifties, I am really tired. Since the schedule got messed around I ended up doing something I have escaped all summer and that is staying out of the afternoon heat that is until yesterday. I stepped out of my parameters and I am paying for it today. My cardiologist told me that if I stay in the parameters I will feel good and have energy...step out...boom. Unknowingly I stepped out. Today I am taking Gena and Kathleen to the Nord, but I am not spending any extra time at all in the great outdoors with a heat index of 108. When my heart went out of rhythm last night I knew. Thankfully I awoke this morning to it being back in sync.
Last night I got an email from the owners of the cottage giving details about checking in etc... I love their signature, "Arrive as strangers, Leave as Friends." The route we are taking in from Georgia has a wonderful produce stand that opens tomorrow for the season. It is the beginning of apple season in the mountains. I think we might stop at a little shop I have always wanted to visit but since we are usually in Waynesville on Sundays, it hasn't been open.
Just like God's compassion, my thoughts on different houses is new every morning. Only my faithfulness to the homes isn't the same thing as God's compassion and new mercies for us. We started at condos and townhouses, then added single family homes to the mix. Then we thought about homes at high elevations to get killer views but killer views plus mountain fog and wet roads and older eyes screams, 'what in the world are you thinking?' At first we wanted to live either east or north of Asheville. Now we are heavily favoring west and south. Love the arts and craftsman style look and there is one home I really want to see, another great home got nixed because we are ruling out every home with crawl space. The term crawl got my attention...no crawling here on these knees. Again, we are good for the economy because the fourth house we had high on our list has been sold. A couple of days ago I came across a home that looks to have motivated sellers, huge wonderful upgrades, a great view of the mountains, A/C, built in 2010 and living is all on one level with a partially finished basement and a completed workshop. Even has a parlor. I think that is just fancy talk for living room. It also has a formal dining room, which we would make a little more casual and great built in bookcases in the great room. We've been considering two story houses with a finished basement thinking of our guests comfort. One level home wouldn't bring that comfort, but it is still a great house to stay in for free with good friends. The reason the house is being sold, the grandparents moved to be closer to the grandchildren. Yes, an older couple with good taste and disposable income built this house....no wonder we like it so much. Sadly the outside of the home is drab, no arts and craftsman style. So here is the dilemma...arts and craftsman with great view but minimal upgrades and $20,000 higher than the other home or a home with great upgrades but not the arts and craftsman style. The upgraded home was originally listed $100,000 higher and has now come into do-able range for us. Ah, the dilemma continues but I hope to keep y'all somewhat updated.
So on my last Wednesday of my fifties I got up early and acted a little cranky. But I have gotten a couple of needed things done for our trip. Buddy knows something is up and she is my little gray shadow. I think I have taken care of the little details that sometimes get over looked or rushed through at the last minute. Not time to pack clothes yet but getting stuff gathered.
On my last Thursday in my fifties, I am really tired. Since the schedule got messed around I ended up doing something I have escaped all summer and that is staying out of the afternoon heat that is until yesterday. I stepped out of my parameters and I am paying for it today. My cardiologist told me that if I stay in the parameters I will feel good and have energy...step out...boom. Unknowingly I stepped out. Today I am taking Gena and Kathleen to the Nord, but I am not spending any extra time at all in the great outdoors with a heat index of 108. When my heart went out of rhythm last night I knew. Thankfully I awoke this morning to it being back in sync.
Last night I got an email from the owners of the cottage giving details about checking in etc... I love their signature, "Arrive as strangers, Leave as Friends." The route we are taking in from Georgia has a wonderful produce stand that opens tomorrow for the season. It is the beginning of apple season in the mountains. I think we might stop at a little shop I have always wanted to visit but since we are usually in Waynesville on Sundays, it hasn't been open.
Just like God's compassion, my thoughts on different houses is new every morning. Only my faithfulness to the homes isn't the same thing as God's compassion and new mercies for us. We started at condos and townhouses, then added single family homes to the mix. Then we thought about homes at high elevations to get killer views but killer views plus mountain fog and wet roads and older eyes screams, 'what in the world are you thinking?' At first we wanted to live either east or north of Asheville. Now we are heavily favoring west and south. Love the arts and craftsman style look and there is one home I really want to see, another great home got nixed because we are ruling out every home with crawl space. The term crawl got my attention...no crawling here on these knees. Again, we are good for the economy because the fourth house we had high on our list has been sold. A couple of days ago I came across a home that looks to have motivated sellers, huge wonderful upgrades, a great view of the mountains, A/C, built in 2010 and living is all on one level with a partially finished basement and a completed workshop. Even has a parlor. I think that is just fancy talk for living room. It also has a formal dining room, which we would make a little more casual and great built in bookcases in the great room. We've been considering two story houses with a finished basement thinking of our guests comfort. One level home wouldn't bring that comfort, but it is still a great house to stay in for free with good friends. The reason the house is being sold, the grandparents moved to be closer to the grandchildren. Yes, an older couple with good taste and disposable income built this house....no wonder we like it so much. Sadly the outside of the home is drab, no arts and craftsman style. So here is the dilemma...arts and craftsman with great view but minimal upgrades and $20,000 higher than the other home or a home with great upgrades but not the arts and craftsman style. The upgraded home was originally listed $100,000 higher and has now come into do-able range for us. Ah, the dilemma continues but I hope to keep y'all somewhat updated.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Stretch And......
So what do I find myself doing the last Tuesday of my fifties decade? Laundry. I had this fabulous idea to wear everything I think I might want to take with me the past few weeks, thus cutting out the middle man which would be the closet or drawers. This way once everything is dry, I fold it and take it into the guest room which is the staging ground for trips. In there I have also started the blue storage container of books, journals, journal materials, pens, pencils, glue, scissors and scotch tape. The lime green storage container is food, not for the car, but for the cottage. Yes, I know Asheville and the surrounding areas have groceries but there are a few things I'm concerned with that might not be carried in their stores. There also is dishwasher and washing machine detergents to bring just to get the whole clean thing started. It's not that I am going to jump right in and start washing clothes, but when I do, I'll be ready. We bought a Keruig to take with us because the cottage just has the coffee pot thing and I have never, ever made good coffee in a pot.
This is where I plan to spend a lot of time in the mornings out on the screened in porch with pastoral and long range mountain views. With my coffee.....
This is why if we don't find the home that we absolutely love, I know that we can rent the cottage for the summer next year and be just fine with that or if we find a home north of Asheville, this will be the perfect place to stay when we need to be here for remodeling and stuff like that.
Then when I feel like doing a little rocking, I will head to the front porch.
I totally got off subject for my last Tuesday in my 50's but maybe going this direction really fits in with the title for today.
Monday, July 28, 2014
I Like To Kick......
Today begins the official count down living out the last week of being in my 50's. Funny, ten years ago when facing my 50's I was upset, depressed and out of sorts some of it due to turning fifty but there were other things happening in life that just about shut me down. I experienced the worst depression in my life and barely could get myself together to go to work because I came home and pretty much slept until the next morning when again I had to pull myself together and get into the job. At some point I decided that I was going to go into my first day of fifty looking the best I possibly could, so I scheduled Lisa, Peggy, Dena and I for an afternoon of Spa Sanctuary at the Nord Spa. It was the best day as we had treatments, facials, mani/pedis and massages with lunch in the relaxation room. Then after the spa, we went downstairs and had makeovers. We finished off the day at Lupe's Tortilla.
Facing sixty, doesn't seem to have had the same effect on me. Maybe it's because of the Asheville house hunting distraction but probably not. I think it has more to do with gratitude to God because I am still alive and by most accounts, I shouldn't be.
I have been healthy and active most of my life, until my fifty's. What began as scheduling a quality of life surgery became something more on the drive home from the Dr office. They saw something in the ultrasound, a tumor, and they wouldn't know if it was malignant or benign until they did they surgery. The Dr even scheduled the surgery on a day the oncologist could be there if it became something more. Thankfully, it didn't become something more and those weeks awaiting surgery were filled with faith, then fear, back to faith and then some more fear. I will always be so thankful for Cynthia C waiting with Roy during my surgery and then while he took care of getting me a private room, she escorted me and the gurney to the room. Then in 2008 right before Ike and after a misdiagnosis, I found myself in a cardiologist's office learning that a virus had attacked my heart and only ten percent of it was working. Thus began a five year odyssey of healing along with three cardioversions, two echo cardiograms and one ablation and one Revel implant ...and good recovery because the cardiologist helped me come back from near death, twice, I'm alive and enjoying life here in my last week of being in my 50's and looking forward to my sixties.
In my fifty's, I traveled more than I had before. The love of Western North Carolina grew in my heart and spirit. Buddy Lee Beardsley swept me off my feet. We built a home and moved out to the prairie. My mother was released from the prison of Alzheimer's and into Beulah Land. My father severed his fragile relationship with Roy and me. I've experienced life in unexpected ways with unexpected results meaning I have learned a lot in my fifty's with the Lord and the ways He prepared for me, while I questioned, those ways were truly for my growth and good. Roy and I continue to grow closer each year and really have had a lot of fun in my 50's. Long lost friends from the long ago have come back into my life and for this I am thankful. In my fifty's I have come to appreciate friendship even more and so thankful for friends near and far. Community Bible Study for me, started in my 50's and I have loved studying God's Word with Peggy but also making a whole bunch of new friends in the past six years. Living in my fifty's has brought treasured friends from the inner loop to Rancho De Five, Dena and Emily and David. And now in these past months studying, researching and looking online at homes in the mountains of North Carolina.
A constant all through life, laundry. So here on this last Monday of being in the decade of my fifties, I must complete my task and begin the sorting of what's going with me on my trip.
Facing sixty, doesn't seem to have had the same effect on me. Maybe it's because of the Asheville house hunting distraction but probably not. I think it has more to do with gratitude to God because I am still alive and by most accounts, I shouldn't be.
I have been healthy and active most of my life, until my fifty's. What began as scheduling a quality of life surgery became something more on the drive home from the Dr office. They saw something in the ultrasound, a tumor, and they wouldn't know if it was malignant or benign until they did they surgery. The Dr even scheduled the surgery on a day the oncologist could be there if it became something more. Thankfully, it didn't become something more and those weeks awaiting surgery were filled with faith, then fear, back to faith and then some more fear. I will always be so thankful for Cynthia C waiting with Roy during my surgery and then while he took care of getting me a private room, she escorted me and the gurney to the room. Then in 2008 right before Ike and after a misdiagnosis, I found myself in a cardiologist's office learning that a virus had attacked my heart and only ten percent of it was working. Thus began a five year odyssey of healing along with three cardioversions, two echo cardiograms and one ablation and one Revel implant ...and good recovery because the cardiologist helped me come back from near death, twice, I'm alive and enjoying life here in my last week of being in my 50's and looking forward to my sixties.
In my fifty's, I traveled more than I had before. The love of Western North Carolina grew in my heart and spirit. Buddy Lee Beardsley swept me off my feet. We built a home and moved out to the prairie. My mother was released from the prison of Alzheimer's and into Beulah Land. My father severed his fragile relationship with Roy and me. I've experienced life in unexpected ways with unexpected results meaning I have learned a lot in my fifty's with the Lord and the ways He prepared for me, while I questioned, those ways were truly for my growth and good. Roy and I continue to grow closer each year and really have had a lot of fun in my 50's. Long lost friends from the long ago have come back into my life and for this I am thankful. In my fifty's I have come to appreciate friendship even more and so thankful for friends near and far. Community Bible Study for me, started in my 50's and I have loved studying God's Word with Peggy but also making a whole bunch of new friends in the past six years. Living in my fifty's has brought treasured friends from the inner loop to Rancho De Five, Dena and Emily and David. And now in these past months studying, researching and looking online at homes in the mountains of North Carolina.
A constant all through life, laundry. So here on this last Monday of being in the decade of my fifties, I must complete my task and begin the sorting of what's going with me on my trip.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Weekend Updates
It was rather exciting on Thursday after reporting in for jury duty we were told the dispute had been resolved five minutes earlier and we would be free to go in a few minutes. They brought us into the courtroom and the judge talked with us a few minutes. He was quite entertaining and a veritable fount of information for all things countywide. That was the easiest $6.00 ever earned for fifteen minutes.
When the invites went out to celebrate Carole Lewis and honor her work and retirement several months ago Dena and I made plans to attend and not only attend but to make a fun shopping time too. She suggested we get a hotel room, come into the Galleria, shop the Nord and then check in and get ready for the deal at the Junior League. Sounded like a great plan to me, so that is what we did. She picked me up and off we went. Both of us had good shopping days at the Nord and we ate a later type lunch at the Bistro. Since this was a First Place event we figured dinner would lean to the healthy side so we better lay a good foundation. That foundation would be steak and Bistro fries. Yum! We timed it perfectly finishing shopping and checking in at the Omni to get a little rest before attending the dinner at 7:00. As we watched the news on a situation with a high rise crane in the general area, we didn't realize until later that we could have watched the scene unfold from our room window. We had a fabulous time at Carole's celebration and had lots of good conversations and laughs with friends. Saturday morning we did the continental breakfast at the Omni and then headed out to Home Source and The Amish Craftsman. After a vigorous shopping expedition, we ate at Molina's since we hadn't eaten there in quite some time after moving out to Rancho De Five. Everything was delicious! We also took a little drive around Washington and marveled at all the changes the area is going through. A quick stop at the produce stand to show Dena where it is located and she dropped me off at home. Buddy greeted us since Roy was out and about running errands. Both Dena and I realized that just a little break from the routine can be so refreshing although I took a little nap later on.
Buddy expressed her displeasure of me being gone for a night in the middle of the night. She is not as gracious as Roy. Oh, she started off well but sometime around 2:30 am she decided it would be the opportune time to bite and scratch me letting me know how she feels. I caught her before she could get a good whack at me and Roy chased her out of the bedroom twice. On her third return, she had settled down and was content to once again sleep at the end of our bed.
I am so thankful for a husband that believes that what blesses me will bless him. He has always been so good about letting me go places and on trips with friends. I count that as such a wonderful attribute in him. This morning we attended home church and by home church I mean he rode his trek early and then we changed out A/C filters and light bulbs. Slowly but surely I am working on little details for our trip that might be overlooked in a last minute rush. We continue to trim our list down of houses we'd like to look at around Asheville and for a brief ten minutes or so, we contemplated a townhouse community in Weaverville but in the end we knew we wanted more room. We continue to think long range and we are also taking in the facts that we will want our friends to come and visit. We would like to be able to offer guestrooms that don't feel like a quickly worked over computer room or office. I would say craft room but most of you would laugh at that.
When the invites went out to celebrate Carole Lewis and honor her work and retirement several months ago Dena and I made plans to attend and not only attend but to make a fun shopping time too. She suggested we get a hotel room, come into the Galleria, shop the Nord and then check in and get ready for the deal at the Junior League. Sounded like a great plan to me, so that is what we did. She picked me up and off we went. Both of us had good shopping days at the Nord and we ate a later type lunch at the Bistro. Since this was a First Place event we figured dinner would lean to the healthy side so we better lay a good foundation. That foundation would be steak and Bistro fries. Yum! We timed it perfectly finishing shopping and checking in at the Omni to get a little rest before attending the dinner at 7:00. As we watched the news on a situation with a high rise crane in the general area, we didn't realize until later that we could have watched the scene unfold from our room window. We had a fabulous time at Carole's celebration and had lots of good conversations and laughs with friends. Saturday morning we did the continental breakfast at the Omni and then headed out to Home Source and The Amish Craftsman. After a vigorous shopping expedition, we ate at Molina's since we hadn't eaten there in quite some time after moving out to Rancho De Five. Everything was delicious! We also took a little drive around Washington and marveled at all the changes the area is going through. A quick stop at the produce stand to show Dena where it is located and she dropped me off at home. Buddy greeted us since Roy was out and about running errands. Both Dena and I realized that just a little break from the routine can be so refreshing although I took a little nap later on.
Buddy expressed her displeasure of me being gone for a night in the middle of the night. She is not as gracious as Roy. Oh, she started off well but sometime around 2:30 am she decided it would be the opportune time to bite and scratch me letting me know how she feels. I caught her before she could get a good whack at me and Roy chased her out of the bedroom twice. On her third return, she had settled down and was content to once again sleep at the end of our bed.
I am so thankful for a husband that believes that what blesses me will bless him. He has always been so good about letting me go places and on trips with friends. I count that as such a wonderful attribute in him. This morning we attended home church and by home church I mean he rode his trek early and then we changed out A/C filters and light bulbs. Slowly but surely I am working on little details for our trip that might be overlooked in a last minute rush. We continue to trim our list down of houses we'd like to look at around Asheville and for a brief ten minutes or so, we contemplated a townhouse community in Weaverville but in the end we knew we wanted more room. We continue to think long range and we are also taking in the facts that we will want our friends to come and visit. We would like to be able to offer guestrooms that don't feel like a quickly worked over computer room or office. I would say craft room but most of you would laugh at that.
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Small Facade....Big House
When Laurie and I make plans for lunch, I so look forward to the day. Our conversations are fun, serious, peppered with a few confessions and lots of solving the world's problems with our observations. What made Tuesday's lunch have a little more pop? Roger B was sitting one table over from us and he threw a balled up piece of paper at us. In those fleeting seconds of recovery from having someone throw a dry spit wad at you are insightful. I harkened back to school days and came up to the present as I began scanning the room for unruly children and I found him...only it was unruly Roger B. Great fun seeing him. Laurie and I got each other caught up with our lives and I showed her a couple of pics from our online mountain home search and she showed me a couple of pics from their latest find.
Laurie commented on one picture of a home we are considering that it looked so small. That is the mystery of NC mountain real estate. What is behind that small looking facade is usually one big ol' home on three levels with wider sq footage that isn't visible until you look to the side and the rear view of the property. When we first began our search, those homes got a quick dismissal but on the second or third look through I began to explore the value beyond a front facade and in most of these homes with basements, that sq footage isn't included for the total number in the house. So for us it has been a discovery of depth and surprise. One new listing Roy and I discovered last night truly was one of those mysteries of the landscape. While we read the overview we saw it is a home that possess the top three wants on our list but what a pleasant surprise when we began to look at the photo gallery. Instead of the usual dark woods of the arts and craftsman style, which I absolutely love, this home's colors are muted grays and whites. Gives off such a cool feeling. It has shot up into the top five of the homes we would like to see. Of course so many homes on paper, I mean on the Internet, look like they are perfect but we all know the pictures are supposed to show the good and best qualities of the home. Unfortunately most have not been schooled in the Jason Swiggart Art of Presentation and as I look through their photos I am so surprised at what has not been put away.
Looking at homes has become an addiction and researching has become my hobby because we want to be as informed as possible before looking at NC homes. I couldn't help but think as I have looked at several homes we'd like to see that started out on the no way, too small list, that we all are like that... judging a book by it's cover. Yes, I realize I have mixed metaphors but you know....I kind of like doing that. Also, I saw a documentary on how book covers are chosen. Lots of research goes into many covers but alas once a particular cover works, all others are apt to copy the look instead of developing their own unique cover. Deeper and surprising, like right now...commentary on book covers. Some of my closest friends through the years have been people I might have dismissed as too different. My goodness, Roy and I started out as total and complete opposites...I almost wrote total and complete idiots and that might be true too but we are more alike now after being married for nearly thirty seven years whether we be idiots or not. I love how Jenny Johnston can see older homes with good bones and make beautiful, modern homes from them. We are toying around with letting her do just that if the no updating needed houses don't work out for us. That's what we have to do with people, see beyond the present and look to help their future unfold into something beautiful. You know, something good. All my confusion...you know what? Someone should write a song with those words.
I am reading a wonderfully interesting book, a million little ways by emily p. freeman. I remember reading an advance on her book and since it would be sometime before it was released, I pre-ordered it from Amazon. When it came I was like, so what is this book? Then I remembered. The book is all about uncovering the art you were made to live. She has insight into such familiar passages like when Jesus washed the feet of the disciples. Along with her brilliant insights, my less than brilliant thoughts coupled with her. She writes descriptively of the bowl and dirty water as Jesus moves down the line of his friends, washing their feet. I could not help but think...did Jesus kind of laugh to Himself when he saw the dirty water thinking, hey boys, this is just the stuff of what you are made, dirt and water. Right there in that foot washing bowl a potential human being. Did He think about the blind man that we read about in John 9? Just a little dirt made into clay...healed the man's eyes. I also wonder if just but for a moment the formerly blind man thought...with all this fuss about gaining sight, blindness is better? He didn't really get a chance to rejoice or tell those who loved him...I can see and that biblical robe you're wearing is so BC. I mean really, the Pharisees are more interested in the inth degree of who and when, his parents throw him under the bus constantly repeating to the Pharisees, hey, he is old enough to tell you....don't bring us into it and he is asked to repeat his story over and over again. I love that when the whole shenanigans with the synagogue leaders are over, Jesus seeks the man out and tells him who He is and why. So much better than the Pharisees' who and when. Last Saturday Roy led the Bible study he attends at the Episcopal church and they were in Acts 7, Roy shared with me his thoughts on Stephen's stoning that it was those who he knew and had studied with that were the ones who killed him. The same practice and group is true for the blind man only he wasn't killed and sadly so many times in our modern era, this is still the painful truth, it's the ones we go to church with that can hurt us the most. David in the Psalms knew about this too. (Psalm 55:12-14) Oh, no one has done this to me...recently...just the thread that is weaving through my thoughts. Nor do I think I have done this to anyone recently...again the thread thing.
Well, I am off to get ready for jury duty. My first out here in Rancho De Five and it is the JP Court. I am so thankful we don't live in Harris County anymore and have that drive into downtown with the nightmare that is the parking garage. On my drive through on Tuesday, it was a wide open parking lot.
Laurie commented on one picture of a home we are considering that it looked so small. That is the mystery of NC mountain real estate. What is behind that small looking facade is usually one big ol' home on three levels with wider sq footage that isn't visible until you look to the side and the rear view of the property. When we first began our search, those homes got a quick dismissal but on the second or third look through I began to explore the value beyond a front facade and in most of these homes with basements, that sq footage isn't included for the total number in the house. So for us it has been a discovery of depth and surprise. One new listing Roy and I discovered last night truly was one of those mysteries of the landscape. While we read the overview we saw it is a home that possess the top three wants on our list but what a pleasant surprise when we began to look at the photo gallery. Instead of the usual dark woods of the arts and craftsman style, which I absolutely love, this home's colors are muted grays and whites. Gives off such a cool feeling. It has shot up into the top five of the homes we would like to see. Of course so many homes on paper, I mean on the Internet, look like they are perfect but we all know the pictures are supposed to show the good and best qualities of the home. Unfortunately most have not been schooled in the Jason Swiggart Art of Presentation and as I look through their photos I am so surprised at what has not been put away.
Looking at homes has become an addiction and researching has become my hobby because we want to be as informed as possible before looking at NC homes. I couldn't help but think as I have looked at several homes we'd like to see that started out on the no way, too small list, that we all are like that... judging a book by it's cover. Yes, I realize I have mixed metaphors but you know....I kind of like doing that. Also, I saw a documentary on how book covers are chosen. Lots of research goes into many covers but alas once a particular cover works, all others are apt to copy the look instead of developing their own unique cover. Deeper and surprising, like right now...commentary on book covers. Some of my closest friends through the years have been people I might have dismissed as too different. My goodness, Roy and I started out as total and complete opposites...I almost wrote total and complete idiots and that might be true too but we are more alike now after being married for nearly thirty seven years whether we be idiots or not. I love how Jenny Johnston can see older homes with good bones and make beautiful, modern homes from them. We are toying around with letting her do just that if the no updating needed houses don't work out for us. That's what we have to do with people, see beyond the present and look to help their future unfold into something beautiful. You know, something good. All my confusion...you know what? Someone should write a song with those words.
I am reading a wonderfully interesting book, a million little ways by emily p. freeman. I remember reading an advance on her book and since it would be sometime before it was released, I pre-ordered it from Amazon. When it came I was like, so what is this book? Then I remembered. The book is all about uncovering the art you were made to live. She has insight into such familiar passages like when Jesus washed the feet of the disciples. Along with her brilliant insights, my less than brilliant thoughts coupled with her. She writes descriptively of the bowl and dirty water as Jesus moves down the line of his friends, washing their feet. I could not help but think...did Jesus kind of laugh to Himself when he saw the dirty water thinking, hey boys, this is just the stuff of what you are made, dirt and water. Right there in that foot washing bowl a potential human being. Did He think about the blind man that we read about in John 9? Just a little dirt made into clay...healed the man's eyes. I also wonder if just but for a moment the formerly blind man thought...with all this fuss about gaining sight, blindness is better? He didn't really get a chance to rejoice or tell those who loved him...I can see and that biblical robe you're wearing is so BC. I mean really, the Pharisees are more interested in the inth degree of who and when, his parents throw him under the bus constantly repeating to the Pharisees, hey, he is old enough to tell you....don't bring us into it and he is asked to repeat his story over and over again. I love that when the whole shenanigans with the synagogue leaders are over, Jesus seeks the man out and tells him who He is and why. So much better than the Pharisees' who and when. Last Saturday Roy led the Bible study he attends at the Episcopal church and they were in Acts 7, Roy shared with me his thoughts on Stephen's stoning that it was those who he knew and had studied with that were the ones who killed him. The same practice and group is true for the blind man only he wasn't killed and sadly so many times in our modern era, this is still the painful truth, it's the ones we go to church with that can hurt us the most. David in the Psalms knew about this too. (Psalm 55:12-14) Oh, no one has done this to me...recently...just the thread that is weaving through my thoughts. Nor do I think I have done this to anyone recently...again the thread thing.
Well, I am off to get ready for jury duty. My first out here in Rancho De Five and it is the JP Court. I am so thankful we don't live in Harris County anymore and have that drive into downtown with the nightmare that is the parking garage. On my drive through on Tuesday, it was a wide open parking lot.
Monday, July 21, 2014
Friends and Mission 55:6-7
It's kind of appropriate that one of my favorite bloggers and authors wrote a post that spoke so directly to the core of my being. I read it this morning and thanked God that she was able to pen the words that have rumbled about in my spirit and mind but the words weren't building and crafting the thoughts and emotions I have felt so deeply in the past couple of weeks. Then in the inbox this morning,here comes Ann Marie Miller with, Redefining Friendship. Several years ago I found myself overwhelmed and weary from trying to treat every friend the same as I do my closest friends. Even Jesus didn't do that! He had his three, then the disciples, the women, Mary, Martha, Lazarus and all the other followers. Jesus spoke and experienced life on a deeper level with Peter, James and John. Learning how to do this was life and energy changing. We all have a lot of people we call friends and they call us friends as well...but we all know each one of us has a core group that we are not a part of with each other, but dang that doesn't stop us from having wonderful conversations and great times together. Here is the link to her blog post. For those who don't have time to read her post, here is a brief part of what she wrote. OK, in my world the following is brief....
To
me, the word friend has become as sacred as the word love.
This is not an attempt for
exclusivity; rather it's an attempt to define expectations. I have met Billy
Bob and perhaps we've even shared a conversation about Africa or Jack Bauer.
He's a great person. I will speak well of him. But I will not call him my
friend because he does not know the secrets my heart keeps or the fears my mind
perpetuates. I do not tell him when my mom is sick or when I got accepted into
school nor does he know my regular drink at Starbucks.
I do have friends that know these
things. They are a small group: humble, beautiful, diverse and there is nothing
loud or proud about them. But they love and they know and they reach and I
reach back.
And I think this is okay.
Choosing to use the word friend carefully is wise.
It does not mean you love less or
even that you love fewer and it does not mean a new acquaintance cannot become
a friend. It simply means your relationships are more intentional, more
vulnerable, and more committed. It reaches far beyond clicking a button on a
website and is about sharing life instead of sharing a status.
Social media aside, a friend is a
thing to cherish, to lavish love on, and to lean on (or sometimes give the gift of
being somebody to lean on.)
Thursday dinner with Dena and Peggy, Roy and I had dinner with Emily and David Saturday, took Peggy to the airport Sunday and are you ready for this....had a home cooked meal Sunday evening at Dena's. Lisa P and I talked and texted over the weekend about all kinds of subject matter from the sacred to the sucky. I love doing life with these friends and I am so thankful for them. Now if we could only get Malcolm and Lisa out here to Rancho De Five...it would be a perfect world in the burbs.
These friends have been on the "let's find a house in Asheville" journey with me. They've known the highs and the lows, the ifs and whens, and the sadness when any one of the homes we like goes off the market or is sold. The count is three, so it is not as high as 9 when we found our lot and builder finally. Roy and I are having more and more House Hunter type conversations. What will it be like once we are finally there and walking through the homes? Yesterday at Willie G's we were talking about a particular home that is in the top part of our budget and if we did buy it, we would have to delay some of the remodeling to save up some bucks to do the extras. What is strange is Roy and I have changed places. He is all about, let's get it if it lives up to online pics and I am like...well...I don't know... the budget. Our named budget like the one at our church is Mission (Psalm) 55:6-7
“Who will give me wings,” I ask—
“wings like a dove?”
Get me out of here on dove wings;
I want some peace and quiet.
I want a walk in the country,
I want a cabin in the woods.
I’m desperate for a change
from rage and stormy weather.
“wings like a dove?”
Get me out of here on dove wings;
I want some peace and quiet.
I want a walk in the country,
I want a cabin in the woods.
I’m desperate for a change
from rage and stormy weather.
Yes, for once it is me talking budget. That in itself is a miracle!
Yes, thankful for the best hubby, the best close friends and Mission 55:6-7.
Saturday, July 19, 2014
The Letter, The Gift...The Bears
In 1973 when I received my acceptance letter from Baylor University I stepped outside and ran and cried at the good news, a dream come true. Yesterday, when I read that I had been nominated and invited to be an Alumni By Choice from the Baylor University Alumni Association, I cried. Oh I would have run but my running days are long gone in the distant past. I sat in Sequisha right there at the neighborhood mailboxes and cried great big tears of happy. I must have re-read that letter five times before moving on. February 28, 2015 is the luncheon complete with a certificate presented by Baylor President Ken Star. Yes, I am totally aware this is a ceremonial thing but in my spirit the feeling of having something restored from forty one years ago that had been ripped away from me is a welcomed and very satisfied feeling. I have cried more in the past few days than I have in a long time...happy joyful tears.
It is strange that I can't remember how and with whom I traveled to visit friends at Baylor while I was still in high school. Back then I don't remember anyone making the formal visits to campuses like today but I was there on the Baylor campus taking it all in. It felt so Ivy League to me, not that I would have even known what that was, but it just felt right. Maybe I knew because the book and movie Love Story was so popular at the time. The huge trees with limbs almost touching the ground, the red brick contrasted with white trim and green landscape...it was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever experienced. A couple of times I visited my friend Lynnie and she lived in Russell when Russell was new and I visited her a couple of years later and she lived in Memorial. I remember thinking if the chance to go to Baylor ever presented itself to me, I would never chose to live in an apartment, I would want to reside in those beautiful old dorm rooms and I didn't exactly think that cooking for myself was really worth the whole apartment thing. Each trip to the campus a mandatory visit to the bookstore was paramount in my book and I returned home with t-shirts and spiral notebooks with the old school Baylor Bear on them.
I was late to the dance in making a decent GPA in high school but it rose significantly enough for acceptance to SWTSU now known as Texas State. The plan, attend SWTSU my freshman year and make decent grades and then transfer to Baylor my sophomore year. I didn't think my grades would be good enough to get in as a freshman at Baylor. I also planned to live in the freshman dorm at Baylor as a sophomore so I could have a true Baylor experience, a sense of belonging. A sense of being a part of something steeped in tradition So I began my college career and maintained a high B average, with which I then applied to Baylor and waited to see the outcome. This is truly one time in my life I had clear cut goals and with them in front of me, working hard for good grades wasn't a chore, it was a joy knowing the prize that was set before me. That letter from Alton B Lee, the registrar at Baylor, came bearing the great good news of acceptance. There came the running and the crying. While home on spring break I went to AstroWorld and interviewed for a summer job. Got the job and I was so excited to learn I was hired to run rides at the amusement park with the chance to work double shifts. The way everything was falling into place just seemed to confirm God's will and pleasure. I thought my hard work of getting a high B average and planning for a summer job with a great opportunity for overtime would get my father's attention and approval because I hadn't ever been this driven in my whole schooling career. Summer came, I worked hard and worked double shifts at least 5 days a week and a regular shift on Sunday so I could go to church. I saved over 90% of my earnings only spending money on gasoline and necessities.
Just like John 10:10 there is the abundant life plan and the plan the thief has, to kill, steal and destroy. A thief plan was being crafted and shaped during that time unknown to me. When its presentation came, it came with unreasonable demands. I was devastated. All I will say here is it was mean spirited and hurtful meant to rip joy and hope right out of me and in doing this it gave great pleasure to the dream taker. The future planned for me by my father was sparse, dismal and hopeless. I had to write Baylor and my roommates and let them know I could not attend. I finished working that summer at AstroWorld but I never worked a double shift after that. I enrolled at U of H and didn't care. I dropped out the spring semester of my junior year.
Any chance I ever had, I would go visit friends at Baylor thinking of what might have been. When I dropped out of school, I got a full time office job and through a series of God ordained moments, went to work at Pennzoil and met the love of my life and married him. Roy knew how much I had wanted to go to Baylor and told me he would send me there if I wanted to go but that season of life had come and gone.. I was married at the ripe old age of barely 23 (I thought that was so late to be married) I still didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up. So for forty one years I have gone to football games, worn Baylor t-shirts and told Roy my usual once a quarter Baylor dream I would have. I lived all things Baylor through my Baylor alumni friends, rooted for all the teams, visited the campus every chance I got and finally after being so bitter about what had been stolen from me for too many years, came to a reckoning and acceptance. I began looking at the good that had come out of not going to Baylor. I would tell you about that, but previous blog post on Losing Your Treasure....thing. Then I heard about Alumni By Choice.....
It is strange that I can't remember how and with whom I traveled to visit friends at Baylor while I was still in high school. Back then I don't remember anyone making the formal visits to campuses like today but I was there on the Baylor campus taking it all in. It felt so Ivy League to me, not that I would have even known what that was, but it just felt right. Maybe I knew because the book and movie Love Story was so popular at the time. The huge trees with limbs almost touching the ground, the red brick contrasted with white trim and green landscape...it was one of the most beautiful sights I had ever experienced. A couple of times I visited my friend Lynnie and she lived in Russell when Russell was new and I visited her a couple of years later and she lived in Memorial. I remember thinking if the chance to go to Baylor ever presented itself to me, I would never chose to live in an apartment, I would want to reside in those beautiful old dorm rooms and I didn't exactly think that cooking for myself was really worth the whole apartment thing. Each trip to the campus a mandatory visit to the bookstore was paramount in my book and I returned home with t-shirts and spiral notebooks with the old school Baylor Bear on them.
I was late to the dance in making a decent GPA in high school but it rose significantly enough for acceptance to SWTSU now known as Texas State. The plan, attend SWTSU my freshman year and make decent grades and then transfer to Baylor my sophomore year. I didn't think my grades would be good enough to get in as a freshman at Baylor. I also planned to live in the freshman dorm at Baylor as a sophomore so I could have a true Baylor experience, a sense of belonging. A sense of being a part of something steeped in tradition So I began my college career and maintained a high B average, with which I then applied to Baylor and waited to see the outcome. This is truly one time in my life I had clear cut goals and with them in front of me, working hard for good grades wasn't a chore, it was a joy knowing the prize that was set before me. That letter from Alton B Lee, the registrar at Baylor, came bearing the great good news of acceptance. There came the running and the crying. While home on spring break I went to AstroWorld and interviewed for a summer job. Got the job and I was so excited to learn I was hired to run rides at the amusement park with the chance to work double shifts. The way everything was falling into place just seemed to confirm God's will and pleasure. I thought my hard work of getting a high B average and planning for a summer job with a great opportunity for overtime would get my father's attention and approval because I hadn't ever been this driven in my whole schooling career. Summer came, I worked hard and worked double shifts at least 5 days a week and a regular shift on Sunday so I could go to church. I saved over 90% of my earnings only spending money on gasoline and necessities.
Just like John 10:10 there is the abundant life plan and the plan the thief has, to kill, steal and destroy. A thief plan was being crafted and shaped during that time unknown to me. When its presentation came, it came with unreasonable demands. I was devastated. All I will say here is it was mean spirited and hurtful meant to rip joy and hope right out of me and in doing this it gave great pleasure to the dream taker. The future planned for me by my father was sparse, dismal and hopeless. I had to write Baylor and my roommates and let them know I could not attend. I finished working that summer at AstroWorld but I never worked a double shift after that. I enrolled at U of H and didn't care. I dropped out the spring semester of my junior year.
Any chance I ever had, I would go visit friends at Baylor thinking of what might have been. When I dropped out of school, I got a full time office job and through a series of God ordained moments, went to work at Pennzoil and met the love of my life and married him. Roy knew how much I had wanted to go to Baylor and told me he would send me there if I wanted to go but that season of life had come and gone.. I was married at the ripe old age of barely 23 (I thought that was so late to be married) I still didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up. So for forty one years I have gone to football games, worn Baylor t-shirts and told Roy my usual once a quarter Baylor dream I would have. I lived all things Baylor through my Baylor alumni friends, rooted for all the teams, visited the campus every chance I got and finally after being so bitter about what had been stolen from me for too many years, came to a reckoning and acceptance. I began looking at the good that had come out of not going to Baylor. I would tell you about that, but previous blog post on Losing Your Treasure....thing. Then I heard about Alumni By Choice.....
Tons of Baylor friends were excited and offered to help me and after many years of just talking about it, Peggy did something about it. She filled out the paperwork and wrote a recommendation of why they should ABC me. They included a portion of what she wrote in the letter they sent. It is beautifully written and lovingly poignant. I had totally forgotten about her filling out paperwork and writing a letter to the Alumni network until Thursday...at the mailboxes...in our neighborhood. I called Roy who was in a meeting and left a message... But in the midst of telling him, I started crying again and could barely talk. I was even more happy because I just happened to be on my way to meet Peggy for dinner. God's timing, what a gift!
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Dang, Just Lost That Treasure
My new workout contains recycling and up-cycling....take the 12 lbs of RH catalogs to the recycle container in the garage, then take them back into the house, place them on the floor and repeat workout. It's like doing something good for me and the environment. I'll repeat this till Tuesday when the recyclables go out for trash day.
I was feeling a little down about the home we have been thinking about in Asheville going off the market. Then our spirits revived when our Realtor told us it should go back onto the market once the current owners find a home where they are moving to...with one undecided buyer in the wings, we might still have a chance. Then yesterday, other homes on our top ten list had price reductions....yahoo! Only, I wish they could have waited to do so closer to the time we will be there. Maybe the three other homes that has our attention will go down in price as well. We were told that homes close in to the center of Asheville are selling at a good pace and the farther out, a slower pace. Since we are not interested in being part of the scene in Asheville, that works well for us.
This summer my attention has been drawn into reading Proverbs. Proverbs is kind of like the OT version of a celebrity how to book, only you know, it is inspired by God not greed. Because, uh Solomon was the richest and wisest person. I believe Proverbs was on the best selling scroll list of the New Jerusalem Times back in the day. The depth of the verses makes it difficult to pick a verse to really give it time and meditation because just when I have chosen the verse for the day, I continue reading and find another really good verse...then it is decision time. These next two verses are not ones I chose to meditate upon but they got my attention:
"A person who promises a gift but doesn't give it is like clouds and wind that bring no rain." Pro 25:14
"Telling lies about others is as harmful as hitting them with an ax, wounding them with a sword, or shooting them with a sharp arrow." Pro 25:18 Wow Solomon....tell us how you really feel. Hitting with an ax wasn't enough of a description?
But the verse that got my attention and apparently it has gotten my attention before because it is highlighted in Bible yellow marker, is:
"Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised." Pro 27:21 NLT
The purity of silver and gold is tested
by putting them in the fire;
The purity of human hearts is tested
by giving them a little fame. Pro 27:21 The Message
I know there are references in the Bible to being refined like silver and gold. We kind of feel brave and oh so biblical when we reference our trying experiences as God's refining fire. Of course this is true. But here in Proverbs it is saying our refining thus purity is tested in being praised or flattered or having a little fame (Fame! I'm gonna live forever....Fame! Little song shout out to the 80's) thrown our way. There is so much legacy talk going on now...guess it is the season of reflection with graduation and the like, but instead of talking about legacy so much why don't we just let the overflow of the abundant life be our legacy? We don't have to talk about it, we just live it. If God uses us that is so fabulous and even more fabulous when we don't even know about it as when we actively curry favor and approval of our legacy leaving antics. When I played tennis one of the best ways your opponent would try to beat you before even stepping onto the court and playing was just this kind of thing....for example I had a pretty wicked forehand and a rather lethal serve and those opponents experienced in the way of sports psychology...getting into your head, would compliment and praise your strengths in the game a little too much. I just thought of this, the term getting into some one's head would have a whole different meaning for a brain surgeon. If you started believing the PR, you found yourself losing the match. Others used the wow, that is a huge knee brace tactic, making you think about how much you hurt while they commended your bravery to just get out there on the court and try. Boom, match lost. If someone started talking about my strengths, I just walked away acting like I was preoccupied with my racquet or getting a drink of water. When it came to the knee brace and asking how I hurt my knee I'd reply kicking an opponent when they made a bad line call. That pretty much shut them up. In church world, we see the same kind of thing. You know, someone praises you, so you grab your most serious eyes closed, head shaking, point to the Lord look. Stop it! Or another posture is after being praised, your next sentence starts with, 'you know... I was....' and you complete the sentence with your most holy accepting praise look with a head tilt. Stop It! I mean we have all done both of those things...whether in truth or in jest...so just keep it in mind, be thankful for that refining fire of praise and don't lose your treasure in heaven with a bad response.
You'll thank me in heaven....dang, just lost that treasure!
I was feeling a little down about the home we have been thinking about in Asheville going off the market. Then our spirits revived when our Realtor told us it should go back onto the market once the current owners find a home where they are moving to...with one undecided buyer in the wings, we might still have a chance. Then yesterday, other homes on our top ten list had price reductions....yahoo! Only, I wish they could have waited to do so closer to the time we will be there. Maybe the three other homes that has our attention will go down in price as well. We were told that homes close in to the center of Asheville are selling at a good pace and the farther out, a slower pace. Since we are not interested in being part of the scene in Asheville, that works well for us.
This summer my attention has been drawn into reading Proverbs. Proverbs is kind of like the OT version of a celebrity how to book, only you know, it is inspired by God not greed. Because, uh Solomon was the richest and wisest person. I believe Proverbs was on the best selling scroll list of the New Jerusalem Times back in the day. The depth of the verses makes it difficult to pick a verse to really give it time and meditation because just when I have chosen the verse for the day, I continue reading and find another really good verse...then it is decision time. These next two verses are not ones I chose to meditate upon but they got my attention:
"A person who promises a gift but doesn't give it is like clouds and wind that bring no rain." Pro 25:14
"Telling lies about others is as harmful as hitting them with an ax, wounding them with a sword, or shooting them with a sharp arrow." Pro 25:18 Wow Solomon....tell us how you really feel. Hitting with an ax wasn't enough of a description?
But the verse that got my attention and apparently it has gotten my attention before because it is highlighted in Bible yellow marker, is:
"Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but a person is tested by being praised." Pro 27:21 NLT
The purity of silver and gold is tested
by putting them in the fire;
The purity of human hearts is tested
by giving them a little fame. Pro 27:21 The Message
I know there are references in the Bible to being refined like silver and gold. We kind of feel brave and oh so biblical when we reference our trying experiences as God's refining fire. Of course this is true. But here in Proverbs it is saying our refining thus purity is tested in being praised or flattered or having a little fame (Fame! I'm gonna live forever....Fame! Little song shout out to the 80's) thrown our way. There is so much legacy talk going on now...guess it is the season of reflection with graduation and the like, but instead of talking about legacy so much why don't we just let the overflow of the abundant life be our legacy? We don't have to talk about it, we just live it. If God uses us that is so fabulous and even more fabulous when we don't even know about it as when we actively curry favor and approval of our legacy leaving antics. When I played tennis one of the best ways your opponent would try to beat you before even stepping onto the court and playing was just this kind of thing....for example I had a pretty wicked forehand and a rather lethal serve and those opponents experienced in the way of sports psychology...getting into your head, would compliment and praise your strengths in the game a little too much. I just thought of this, the term getting into some one's head would have a whole different meaning for a brain surgeon. If you started believing the PR, you found yourself losing the match. Others used the wow, that is a huge knee brace tactic, making you think about how much you hurt while they commended your bravery to just get out there on the court and try. Boom, match lost. If someone started talking about my strengths, I just walked away acting like I was preoccupied with my racquet or getting a drink of water. When it came to the knee brace and asking how I hurt my knee I'd reply kicking an opponent when they made a bad line call. That pretty much shut them up. In church world, we see the same kind of thing. You know, someone praises you, so you grab your most serious eyes closed, head shaking, point to the Lord look. Stop it! Or another posture is after being praised, your next sentence starts with, 'you know... I was....' and you complete the sentence with your most holy accepting praise look with a head tilt. Stop It! I mean we have all done both of those things...whether in truth or in jest...so just keep it in mind, be thankful for that refining fire of praise and don't lose your treasure in heaven with a bad response.
You'll thank me in heaven....dang, just lost that treasure!
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Expedient
Another reading from Brilliant Thoughts for Women, circa 1893...I totally have used the word expedient wrong. I thought it meant quick or efficient...no it means:
1. a means of attaining an end, especially one that is convenient but considered improper or immoral.
From the book; "It is a sad thing-avoid it-to be reduced to live by little expedients, daily expedients." Maria Edgeworth.
I mentioned our worship service on Sunday and I would like to add that the music led by the choir and orchestra was so powerful. Up there on the back row of the balcony I teared up while singing When I Think About The Lord. What a word! The wellspring of exuberance and joy flowed out of my spirit in gratitude and thankfulness. Thank you friends! Also along this vein of thought, while looking at churches in the Asheville area, I find it funny that many of the more trendy style services mentions a choir and orchestra led service but people on some risers and a band is not choir and orchestra. Love singers on risers and a band but that is what they are.
The days are dwindling down living in the 50's decade. It actually has been one of my more favorite decades when in reality it should not have been. I am going to blog about it but I am writing this all down for me and if you enjoy the observations, that pleases me.
Yesterday seemed to be the paramount day of emotions and I was rather cranky. Seems maybe I shouldn't have been after Sunday but just maybe I let the birds eat the seed before it was planted deep into the soil of my heart. It seems that here of late I feel like I am just background noise. No one, not even Roy, noticed my new glasses. It feels like I am on auto repeat having to repeat stuff that I have already said and thought had registered with others. Then while doing the old pick up around the house routine I had to erase some messages on our phone. We have been advised to keep the messages from APS, the mental health division of the police, and my father's threatening message he left while I was in NC. So as I deleted everything else, I heard those messages, just snippets...well, actually I shouldn't have but I listened to my father's message again. That kind of put me in a cranky state of mind.
In my vast research into homes around Asheville, it seems that yellow and this strange green is in just about every home...oh and a bright blue. What's with that? Guess all the beige and neutral of Rancho De Five has left me a little underwhelmed by this huge use of color. Also as we search Zillow and Realtor.com, if people haven't taken the time to make sure you can see the pictures instead of just dark with a window or not even fixing the pic to be the correct view...gone. Even if a house has good bones, if there is a copious amount of wallpaper or green or blue carpet... no lookie. Pretty much goes for neutral color carpeting in the great or family room. Preferring hardwood or engineered wood. Think we are not going to consider anything that isn't a slab foundation. Too many problems arise if crawl space isn't done well...so says my research. We have also decided that if on this trip nothing wows us, we aren't pressured to just get something. We have a window of opportunity with interest rates, so we don't have to rush. It is a buyers market there for the most part. We are narrowing down the houses we want to see with our Realtor in the two full days Roy will be there with me.
1. a means of attaining an end, especially one that is convenient but considered improper or immoral.
: suitable for achieving a particular end in a givencircumstance
2
: characterized by concern with what is opportune;especially : governed by self-interest
I mentioned our worship service on Sunday and I would like to add that the music led by the choir and orchestra was so powerful. Up there on the back row of the balcony I teared up while singing When I Think About The Lord. What a word! The wellspring of exuberance and joy flowed out of my spirit in gratitude and thankfulness. Thank you friends! Also along this vein of thought, while looking at churches in the Asheville area, I find it funny that many of the more trendy style services mentions a choir and orchestra led service but people on some risers and a band is not choir and orchestra. Love singers on risers and a band but that is what they are.
The days are dwindling down living in the 50's decade. It actually has been one of my more favorite decades when in reality it should not have been. I am going to blog about it but I am writing this all down for me and if you enjoy the observations, that pleases me.
Yesterday seemed to be the paramount day of emotions and I was rather cranky. Seems maybe I shouldn't have been after Sunday but just maybe I let the birds eat the seed before it was planted deep into the soil of my heart. It seems that here of late I feel like I am just background noise. No one, not even Roy, noticed my new glasses. It feels like I am on auto repeat having to repeat stuff that I have already said and thought had registered with others. Then while doing the old pick up around the house routine I had to erase some messages on our phone. We have been advised to keep the messages from APS, the mental health division of the police, and my father's threatening message he left while I was in NC. So as I deleted everything else, I heard those messages, just snippets...well, actually I shouldn't have but I listened to my father's message again. That kind of put me in a cranky state of mind.
In my vast research into homes around Asheville, it seems that yellow and this strange green is in just about every home...oh and a bright blue. What's with that? Guess all the beige and neutral of Rancho De Five has left me a little underwhelmed by this huge use of color. Also as we search Zillow and Realtor.com, if people haven't taken the time to make sure you can see the pictures instead of just dark with a window or not even fixing the pic to be the correct view...gone. Even if a house has good bones, if there is a copious amount of wallpaper or green or blue carpet... no lookie. Pretty much goes for neutral color carpeting in the great or family room. Preferring hardwood or engineered wood. Think we are not going to consider anything that isn't a slab foundation. Too many problems arise if crawl space isn't done well...so says my research. We have also decided that if on this trip nothing wows us, we aren't pressured to just get something. We have a window of opportunity with interest rates, so we don't have to rush. It is a buyers market there for the most part. We are narrowing down the houses we want to see with our Realtor in the two full days Roy will be there with me.
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