Great Adventures of All Kinds....Part One

After Monday's disappointment on our grand adventure of biscuits we could only go up. On Tuesday we were doing the Goodwill run and a trip to the dump and in between these trips we were picking up a pie at The Baked Pie Company for a funeral luncheon. On the way we passed Granny's Biscuits. Now, we have known about Granny's and the wonderful availablity of drive through biscuit purchasing, but we have never, ever gone there...until Tuesday. Roy got two biscuits and we ate them on the way to pick up pie. The biscuits were awesome, having all the buttery goodness you want in a biscuit. So now we know that Granny's is a return trip.
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It is about a week later now so I will finish up with the Great Biscuit Adventure and bring everything up to speed of the happenings of this week.

Last Wednesday, we headed over to Black Mountain to try the Blue Ridge Biscuit Company. We were not disappointed. What a great place all with the local vibe and local farm sourced products. The cat head biscuits are flavorful and fluffy. Not dry. We loved the jelly bar with all the choices of biscuit toppings. A definite return is in mind. After breakfast we drove over to Montreat. It has been awhile since we had been there. I think the last time was in our tourist days. After a successful trip to the gift shop we took highway 9 to the Lake Lure area. We have read about all the landslides on that road from the vast amount of rain and also 18 wheelers getting stuck on a road that is so narrow and not meant for big rigs. What a beautiful drive that took us to Hendersonville and since we were over halfway to South Carolina, we decided to make a Costco run in Spartenburg. After the successful shopping trip, we stopped at Jack in the Box for tacos. It is the closest Jack to us and there are times I miss or rather crave those greasy flat tacos. These were so good and the shells were crispy. Yes, a delicious lunch on the road.

Thursday was the best biscuit day because, Roy made biscuits. My favorite of the week on the Great Biscuit Adventure.

Our great back porch Adventure began last Tuesday. They tore out the deck and began the cement process that has been hampered a bit by rain. The porta john and lumber have been delivered. It is a red clay mess in the back but visions of a covered porch dance in my head. This development has affected the kiddos out back. Strawyer has made lemonade out of lemons and plays hard out there. Mr Meany has tore a hole in the screen on the front porch so I am ready to make a quick dispatch of his presence. I repaired it with a patch but one of the patches has fallen off, so that will need to be repaired again today. People ask what about Riley? Well, the sad fact is she will have nothing to do with me... I believe she has had her kittens but I don't believe they are alive or maybe she has one that survived. The temps here have been all over the place and kittens that young do not have the ability to fluctuate with the changes. Riley has encountered what all those ferals experience, she is living a very hard existence. Life has worn her down, no playfulness, no joy, no fun. She walks with that slow meandering gate that screams, weary. She doesn't eat much. It tears me up that I failed her and now she has no trust whatsoever of me.

Roy has been working on a new speech for Toastmasters. I think it is one of his best and his speech is on our adventure of buying a home in a place where we had been tourists for a very long time. He has a nice amount of humor in it. He will give the speech for the first time tomorrow and can't wait to hear the results.

This is the catch up for now....until some time rolls around again....The Great Adventure continues....

The Great Biscuit Adventure and Other Things

Ever since Our State magazine came out with their biscuit reviews we have been anxious to give a few local places mentioned in the article a try. Our attempt Saturday morning was a failure due to the allergy pill that Roy took that nearly knocked him out for the day and being in the truck in a parking lot with little tiny spaces. So we rerouted for home and made a different plan. Roy was pretty much out of it all day and only had a few waking moments of clarity here and there.

This morning we tried a biscuit place near Lake Juneleska and Waynesville. The food was very good but the biscuit was a drop biscuit and the consistency and dryness on the outer portions made this biscuit preferable for gravy, not butter or jelly. The rest of our food was delicious, eggs, bacon turkey sausage, I had pancakes and Roy the blueberry waffle. Roy asked me once we were in the car if this would be a place to return to....on the fence, cause I would come back for the pancakes but not for biscuits.

Our travels then took us to Bryant's Antique Mall where we found the mother load of biscuit cutters from back in the day. We bought a few and left a few for others. This time we went to both buildings and had a great time looking at stuff. We stopped at the Smoky Mountain Visitor Center on our way back and came across a great sale on hooded, reversible, warm yet rain resistant jackets marked down over 50% off. We both got jackets. Everything is on the cusp of spring...ready to go. The trees aren't greening up yet, but they are so very close.

Since we had eaten an early breakfast it seemed good to eat a late lunch and off to Blue Rooster for lunch and of course it was delicious. We came on home because our contractor is coming over this afternoon or in the morning with the bid and details. Think they'll be starting soon.

I'm keeping a watch on Riley trying to determine if she has had her kittens yet. She is spending more time in the tent of napping. I cannot get close enough to investigate yet. Mr Meany is still hanging about and just as a reminder, I don't like him. If work begins soon on the back deck turned into porch, they will lose the deck protection for a bit and that also means the tent of napping will be moved. So, we keep vigil on the comings and goings and trying to determine from watching these cats if we can make any sense of their actions. Roy was able to get a look inside the tent and there aren't any kittens, good news. Mr Meany stood his ground and Roy had to scare him off the deck.

Bruce is coming in the morning to discuss the back porch. Yea! Roy is doing some work work and I am enjoying a little time blogging before watching some TV with Roy. We usually do not like the same programs but he said if the Andy Griffith show are good ones tonight, he will watch with me. Yea! I kind of watched some Hallmark Mystery with him last night once I got home from choir. I could only take a little bit of that sappiness, so it was beddy bye time for me.

A Time of Spring Forward

Daylight Savings Sunday for spring forward 2019 is in the books. Falling back in the fall is easy, the spring takes courage and resolve. Well, actually, it takes the ability to fall asleep an hour earlier and that isn't usually a problem for me except on spring forward Sunday. When it is a requirement, it is much more difficult. So on Saturday night with all clocks reset except one, I went to bed, to fall asleep and wake up refreshed. Even Buddy cooperated but alas it was not enough and so I was awake most of the night trying to fall asleep. Around 4:00 am I fell fast asleep knowing it would be the deepest sleep and when the alarm rang, there wasn't a bit of spring forward in my step.

Got ready for church, skimmed the lesson since I wasn't teaching and headed out the door. God has such a great sense of humor because as the clock ticked it was becoming obvious that the teacher for this Sunday wasn't going to be on time or show up...could this be spring forward related? So....we talked and prayed and I led an unstudied lesson, which was mainly reading out of the quarterly and asking for lots and lots of comments. And it wasn't a lesson in my wheel house so to speak, the bronze serpent being lifted up in the wilderness. We talked a lot about snakes...our general dislike of them and the irony of a snake being lifted up for healing. Lesson learned, I should spend more time on lesson reading when it is not my Sunday to teach. Told the class I could teach the upcoming lesson I've been studying and they all said, you could have because we won't remember you did when you teach it on your Sunday.

So on spring forward Sunday I went to choir practice. It was so helpful that the weather cooperated and thus my GWB status is still in place, Good Weather Baptist. Having daylight on the drive over to the church was welcomed and in the middle of summer, it will just be dusk when we drive home. Choir practice was good and we worked on our new songs and the Easter music. Happily, a strong alto has moved to the second row to help those of us who need to hear the alto part to sing the alto part. Lois and I lamented previously if a strong alto didn't come help us, we would have to quit choir since we don't read music. Thankfully, I have a friend who is willing to teach me and I told her once the spring forward and spring rush is over, we need to settle in on this task of learning this musical ability. Our interim choir director is such a fine musician. He is our pianist as well. For HFBC folks think Jill and Eric caliber of pianist.

Guess Saturday was a spring forward day of cleaning. A whole lot of mopping going on. I also did some cleaning that has been procrastinated long enough.
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Well, spring forward is not helping us get a restful night. In fact last night, we were sound asleep when the alarming deck noise woke us up, It sounded like a small pony was out there doing a few dance steps. I looked out the window and watched the largest possum I've ever seen run up to the gravel road and through the fence to our neighbors. Mr Meany earned his board and keep last night. The secret to keeping peace in the backyard is setting his dish away from the others. He only has to duke it out with Mama Cat occasionally.

It rained again yesterday afternoon, more than expected and it was much cooler than forecasted. When I went out there yesterday I reminisced of that time when much younger, I tried to learn how to surf. Fifty miles away from the coast, young and stupid....ya had to try it. Well, that feeling came back yesterday as the large stepping stones moved just like a surfboard because the ground is so saturated and the mud is so slick. Thankfully, I did better yesterday than I ever did learning to surf way back in the day.

I read something the other day written by a youngish Baptist young man. Glad so many things have changed over the years in churches for the good but sometimes those old colloquialisms are rooted deep and come out even with the young and hip. What I read was an explanation of an event and the term "time of______" was overreaching. I love how we Baptists use those terms, a time of but mainly it used by us older folks. Train a younger generation in the way they should go and they will have a time of fellowship, coffee, snacks, praying, reading, and so on to celebrate.

Funny thing, I researched pink shoes yesterday and now all over Facebook and ads on sites have lots and lots of pink shoes. Spring is just eight days away.

Lessons Learned

Every once in a while someone will send me info on a creative writing class or some other opportunity that involves writing. Sometimes I look at what has been suggested but most of the time I pass them by because it has been my experience that my style of writing and the style of those leading or teaching are so far opposite. It's not that I don't think there is improvement for me, that's not it, it is just an attitude, a somewhat prejudicial attitude to the stream of consciousness style that is usually my choice of writing. Even in an elective setting. I met someone the other day who teaches or instructs these types of classes and as we discussed theories of writing and such, an aloofness and an arrogance came over this woman in our conversation which quickly went one sided as she poo pooed ideas and the experiences I chose to write about. Yes, she encouraged me to write on a higher plain, a higher level than I had chosen, to choose different subjects, to read above the level of books on the good old to be read pile...hooey on her. Nothing she said was of interest. Even as we talked about things to do or places to go around our area, she would never return to a place I mentioned, she would never shop at any of my suggestions and when I didn't agree with her on a particular place she loved, she nearly came unglued. Lesson learned, go happily and ignorantly with blogging.

After a couple of sunny days we welcome the rain back into the forecast. They, whoever they are, say that our coldest weather is behind us and we will experience a gradual warm up but we still need to be mindful of the dogwood and blackberry frost. It was very encouraging yesterday to be out and about in warmer temps and no need for a heavy coat. That made for an enjoyable trip to the landfill and then to the grocery store.

So, I haven't been writing about the cats lately. There is a reason for this and it merely comes down to there isn't any joy with their presence as has been true in the long past. The gray and white cat, Mr Meany, has disrupted the pleasantries of the backyard, dividing and terrorizing the kiddos and to some degree Riley. Dead Beat Dad and Big Sissy Daddy didn't camp here as they were more come and go types. But Mr Meany, he situates himself to be the observer and hearer to know when food is served or if treats are made available. The ones they are intended for don't always get food or treats. He is making me like Mama Cat and Camo a little more. They take him on and keep him at bay but they are infrequent visitors. He is not afraid of me and doesn't scatter so he must be a stray and used to being around people. Sometimes when he is not around in the afternoon the kiddos play out back without his soul withering presence. This morning I heard a commotion on the front deck and it was Mr Meany trying to attack Buddy through the screen. I waited till she had calmed down to pick her up and whisk her into the house, but she still bit me. He stayed out there with and his face seemed to be frozen in a snear and with his eyes half closed, not in sleep but ready for a fight. I am going to have to trap him but will wait till next week when I have help to do so. Then get him fixed and he can wander about and keep creatures at bay.

The wind is picking up and seems to be right on time as we are under a wind advisory. I guess you would say I have been busy doing spring cleaning although it does not feel or look like spring too much. With the long days of winter and cold temps, I used the time for reading or writing or thinking or watching cats, not so much doing the big cleaning kind of thing. So today, on this day of spring forward, I sprang into action with a little excitement on the side. The closet under the stairs can become a catch all for all kinds of stuff and so it seemed a good idea to straighten it up and clean it out. Because I have the bad habit of not turning on lights to do these kinds of things....as I moved stuff around in the dim lighted closet I saw something black with a long tail or so it seemed. First reaction to scream and jump back, and do the high knee raising hop over bags of trash, boxes waiting to return to the closet and junk. Buddy made a fast dash up the stairs, Turning on lights to make another look see, it was the remote control for the back massager. Lesson learned it is better to turn on a light than to have a heart attack amidst the junk.

Keeping Up With Weather...A Full Time Job

It was kind of a surprise to wake up to a dusting of snow this morning. The forecast had been for the higher elevations but looking at the radar map last night showed that ice or snow might get as far as Marshall. It went a little farther. We will get above freezing today so this will melt but Tuesday will be the day to keep an eye on. No, Tuesday is supposed to be sunny...keeping up with weather is a full time job.

Two Sundays in a row of missing choir practice because of the rain. With daylight saving time coming into play this Saturday/Sunday, it will at least be lighter getting to practice and if it is raining only the trip home will be fret with glare or fallen trees or whatever else all the rain entails. Missing last Sunday night wasn't too big of a deal because the youth led worship yesterday. Roy calls me a GWB, Good Weather Baptist, and that observation rings true, sadly. No not sadly.

The view from the chair facing the window is that silver gray and white pallet with leafless trees framing the picture. The silhouettes of the mountains are covered with clouds or fog. This is a favorite scene, along with the brighter colors of the seasons that will arrive soon. Winter holds its own allure. Overcast days are favorites. Their effect if one will let it happen, makes you slow down and listen and watch. Roy went to a CLE seminar Friday afternoon, always having to keep up with professional education hours, and the speaker shared his adult "time out," and time out doesn't hold a positive connection for me but that is being said by someone who has spent many a time in time out through the years, imposed and self imposed. Love me a run on sentence. Roy said he thought of the term time out as a sports related term...but sport timeouts are relatively short. Roy said professionally, he is beyond the time of taking a sabbatical but tho, 4-6 months Roy thought the man had an interesting concept that might become practiced in ten or twenty years. The author advocates  Roy bought the book the speaker had written looking forward to going further into the adventures that this lawyer took, not going a conventional way overseas. But as Roy got deeper into the story, he began to lose interest because this man spent more time describing himself and constantly referring to his position in a large law firm, where he had been a rainmaker for the firm, burning out, taking all his accrued vacation to have this "time out" and Roy being bored with it all, put the book down and he probably won't pick it up again.

I happen to be reading Erwin McManus' book, The Last Arrow and just read about his trip to Rio for the World Cup in 2014. Not a planned trip but a last minute trip with a ticket being given to him by someone he met once. He asked why they picked him and their response; you are the person who came to mind that would totally rearrange life at the last minute and would go. Sure enough he had a short period of time to get all his ducks in a row....miraculously, he got a visa but arrived with no place to stay. Social media helped with that....  We all have our own definitions of adventure and this would not be something I would do. Now Peggy or Kathleen, they would be all over it. My adventure sense is on a much smaller scale but nonetheless, it is still adventure.

The Sunday School lesson I taught yesterday is a well known story of the children of Israel, standing on the brink of the promised land only to believe the ten spies and not Joshua and Caleb. Thus forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Funny how stories come back to you while studying. I got to thinking of my first job post college and the false promise land it would have been, if I hadn't followed the leading of the Holy Spirit that it was not the place for a career. The funny thing, while working there I met a guy who I dated and was smitten with...he broke up with me and I was brokenhearted cause I thought he might be the one. I also at that company went out with a young man who didn't really care one way or another about God, happy I had found peace but not something he actively sought. We had just a couple of dates when I knew the direction the relationship was going, wasn't really on my radar. Boy who broke my heart, thought he was the one, I cannot even remember his last name...the other nice young man working and going to law school at night....totally remember his whole name. On a bunny trail, looked him up and he did become an attorney and moved back to Illinois, and he practices law probably about twenty miles from where I was born. And yes, this story tied into the lesson...no really it did.

Last night a Houston friend called and so glad they did. First they were checking to see if we were experiencing weather like in Alabama yesterday and after a good weather discussion, we picked up with our conversation catch up. With her telling me about weather she saw on CNN it reminded me that the Bush Family Story was on the channel at 9:00. Watched both episodes last night. Very interesting. I had begun a biography of George HW Bush and had put it down. It came to the top of my reading pile last night. Since it looks like I will put off my errands until tomorrow, maybe I will get back to reading it this afternoon.

Well, my project for the day is calling, well not really but the thought of what I want to get done is not taking a backseat in my brain. So better go with the energy to do the thing than to put if off till tomorrow.

Way More Than Normal

Last night I stayed up way later than normal. Yesterday, I talked on the phone way more than normal. Yesterday, I cooked...way more than normal. Yet, yesterday was a typically normal day that included errands and taking care of a few necessary things here at the house. Today starts out with a heavy layer of fog that is more like August fog and hopefully it will be clearing soon. Have a much needed trip to the dump due to the partial garage clean out. So for now, after having a delicious breakfast of yogurt and probiotic cereal, I came upstairs to write a little, but decided to write a blog post which is normally easy to do but this morning Buddy wants to help a lot, a whole lot.

Yesterday morning, for the longest period of time, none of the regulars were out back waiting for breakfast. Only the gray and white cat showed up and his presence doesn't move me. In fact, he thwarted the first real interest of Riley coming back into the garage on Wednesday morning, so he is on my list. He went up under the tree near the gravel road, checked all around and began this mournful meowing. It rattle me a bit that maybe something had happened. I tried to go about the morning but kept looking out the window. Toward the later part of the morning, I saw a blip of a white tipped tail as Riley ran across the yard. Before leaving the house on errands, I put out food for her and Strawyer showed up as well as Mr. Meany. No Punky... When I got back home, she was out back, so all present and accounted for.

I am horrible at goodbyes especially when emotions involving goodbye are right there, beneath the surface of an ugly cry, I do my best to avoid the ugly cry. Last Sunday, Gene and Angela's last day on staff at Newfound. Such wonderful and beloved people who serve the Lord, under the radar, going the extra mile with people. Newfound people who are no longer able to attend services, people who are ill or in the hospital, Gene and Angela were there, encouraging and praying for those they were serving in love. Gene always found a way to make choir rehearsal fun but always worshipful. Angela, being an alto, helped her fellow altos, hit the note spot on or see intricacies in the measures and always appreciate the words being expressed by the musician who penned the song. After the service last Sunday a reception was held for them. Gene encouraged us, reminded us of the mission statement of Newfound and that we always need to be ready... Even in the goodbye, he was like Paul reminding the believers he wrote to, stay strong, be in Christ, be ready and go....out and share the good news. The luncheon held such an emotional sway, seconds from ugly cry...that I walked out and didn't express my personal goodbye. It was overwhelming and too much. I am hoping to see them before they move from the area, but they are two of the finest people I have ever met and the next church they serve in will be so fortunate.

Roy attended a conference on his birthday...oh the joys of continued learning and keeping skills sharp. It was an IT conference. He learned why, when our gas credit cards have been compromised by a skimmer, that the fraudulent charges begin in Miami. Learning that was just a serendipity, he heard more useful things for the office.

Yesterday, being a normal, not normal day, I saw a recent picture of the neighborhood boy I had the biggest crush on from late elementary school till about the 7th grade. He lived next door to my best friend and we all hung out together...sitting around, listening to our transistor radios, all tuned to the same station for that stereophonic experience. Or we would play wiffle ball or touch football. This neighborhood boy was drop dead gorgeous! But you know how things go, I haven't thought of him at all until yesterday when I saw a post on our alumni page on Facebook and someone tagged him in an old photo of Little League days or maybe Pop Warner days. So, I looked at his FB page and his profile pic is of his family. There right in the center of the pic was that good looking neighborhood boy....but no, wait...he wouldn't be that young...neighborhood boy was a year or two ahead of us in school...my eyes moved to the right at the old, bald, scruffy, wearied looking old guy....uh, oops, there was neighborhood boy...he hadn't aged well. In fact, I vaguely remember what his father looked like...yep, looked a lot like dad. Neighborhood boy had a high school pic on his timeline...yep, that is how I remember him...young, good looking and long surfer hair after his stint with being athletic was over....Of course, I have not changed a bit.

While firming up March, April and May plans yesterday, that led me to be on the phone more than normal. At the end of the day, and into today, the last phone conversation was with my brother. We talked and laughed for over two hours. We covered a lot of ground...When we hung up, it wasn't just going to be go wash your face, take your meds and hit the hay. No, I had cooked yesterday afternoon. Wednesday was Brenda's mom's birthday and she loves taco soup. So, I made her some soup and when it was finished, took it over to her. When I got back home, ate a quick bite and then began the evening of phone conversations. So, I needed to go clean up the kitchen and get it somewhat straight. It didn't take as long as expected and for that fact much happiness. With things wrapped up and Buddy treated, we could go to sleep.

This past week the joy of discovering some frozen peaches from last summer has been a delightful foodie experience. Sadly, they are gone. Growers of peaches are little concerned about next week and the cold weather. Our plum tree is blooming which means when the freeze comes, it is doubtful the tree will produce fruit. It hasn't for the past couple of years. Yesterday, I bought some peach trees and more seeds and bulbs for the spring planting.