The Flowers Bunch

I love this time of year!

2009-10-23T07:37:00.003-05:00

A full weekend ahead....

SAFF for me in all it's fibery, yarny goodness.

The Corn Maze

Where the Wild Things Are

Dinner with friends

and a trip to the Halloween store to get what we need for next week's festivities :)

I'm going to need a nap....

Wordless Wednesday

2009-09-23T09:50:00.002-05:00

What $10 will get you at the tailgate market

2009-08-30T12:52:00.002-05:00

Weekends are usually reserved for sleeping in ... drinking coffee at your leisure while listening to the birds wake up.

Not today - I set the alarm early and met mom & dad at the tailgate market. I am so glad I did!

Here are my treasures from this mornings adventure:

12 ears of corn $3
4 giant red bell peppers $2
1 huge head of cabbage $1
6 apples (2 yellow delicious & 4 gala) $1
Yellow tommy tomatoes $1
dried red peppers $.25
Fresh corn tortillas $1.50

Grand total $9.75

(Little) Phil Mickelson

2009-07-22T08:01:00.001-05:00

This is my new favorite photo of the boy.

Such concentration - this is the day he shot 41 on the front nine at Maggie Valley.

I am so proud!

13 years ago today

2009-07-15T08:48:00.003-05:00

Well, really really early this am (4:32am to be exact)
I became mom to the greatest kid in the universe.

I never knew I could love someone as much as I love him.

He never ceases to amaze and frustrate me
(come on he's a TEENAGER).

I have been blessed, lucky, whatever you want to call it.
I'm one proud M.O.M.

Let Me Take You to Funkytown...

2009-06-17T14:41:00.001-05:00

Okay, mom snapped this in the grocery store parking lot.

Only in Asheville would you find this bumper sticker on a car :)

Life on the Farm

2009-06-16T09:32:00.003-05:00

This year everything seems to have clicked just right for our little garden venture. We have a huge bed of lettuce and spinach... lots of blooms on our squash, zucchini and cucumbers. The okra is taking it's time (but that's ok with me since David is the only one who eats it). However we have broccoli (ok, they are the size of a floret, but STILL :) we have broccoli. I also harvested these beauties Sunday and had them for dinner - sugar snap and snow peas - they are so sweet and yummalicious.

A few nights ago I kept hearing a soft little squeal - like something was stuck - I thought something (a bunny maybe) had gotten into the raised bed where the veggies were but couldn't get out... so at 4am (yes, 4am) I took the flashlight and went out to investigate. About the time I passed by the outdoor dining table - this guy flew over my head and landed on the garage roof. Amazing! He and his mate were calling back and forth to each other!

I love living this close to the parkway and all it's wildlife :)

This is why everyone should have a dog

2009-04-15T15:29:00.003-05:00

They make you smile no matter what.

They give you unconditional love and will follow you anywhere.

How Does Your Bookshelf Look?

2009-03-10T08:29:00.004-05:00

I found this very interesting. I was raised by an avid reader. Every Saturday my Mom would take my sister and I to the library on the island where we would pick out 2-4 books that we would read over a 2-week period (the average time you were allowed to check out library books). So we read - a lot. Now I came across this over at Red Bird Knits' blog and took the quiz (answers beside the titles) and I find it sad that the average person has only read 6 books from the list.

My number is 71

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen - yes
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien –
Read them in middle school and again before the movies came out.
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte - yes
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling – yes - thanks mom :)
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee - Yes
6 The Bible - yes, but I've never read it cover to cover
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte - yes
8 1984 - George Orwell - Yes
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman - no
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens - Yes
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott - Yes
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy – Yes
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller – Yes
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare – I haven't read all of them, but I do have them all
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien - Yes, see #2
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks - no
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger - Yes, and more than once
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger - it's on my bookshelf
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot- Yes
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell - Yes
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald - Yes and I have ALL his works
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens- no
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy - Yes, but I loved Anna Karenina more
25 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams - yes
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh - Yes
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky - no
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll - Yes and read it again last year, just because
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame - Yes - one of my all time favorites
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy - Yes, Yes, Yes
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens - Yes
33 The Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis - like Tolkein, once in middle school
and then again with David
34 Emma - Jane Austen - Yes
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen - yes
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - Yes - see above
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini - No, and I really have no interest in it
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres- No, why is this on the list?
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden - Yes
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne – Yes -
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell -Yes
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown - Yes, Angels & Demons was a better book
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Yes, and HATED every page
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving - Yes, Yes, yes
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins - no
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery - Yes
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy - no
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood - Yes
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding - Yes
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan - no
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel - Yes
52 Dune - Frank Herbert- Yes
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons - No
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen - Yes
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth - No
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon - No and haven't heard of this one
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens - Yes
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley - Yes
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon - No
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Yes, and LOVED LOVED it
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck – Yes.
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov - No
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt - no
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold – it too is on the bookshelf waiting
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas - Yes, and ALL his works are on the shelf
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac - No
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy - No
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding - Yes
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie - No
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville - Yes, and again with David
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens - Yes
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker - Yes
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett - Yes, may be my all time fav book
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson - No
75 Ulysses - James Joyce - no
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath - Yes
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome - No
78 Germinal - Emile Zola - No
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray - Yes
80 Possession - AS Byatt- Yes - No
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens - Yes
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell - No
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker - Yes
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro - Yes
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert - Yes
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry - No
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White - Yes, multiple times
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom - No
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle - Yes
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton – No
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad - No
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery – Yes
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks - No
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams - Yes
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole - No
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute - No
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas - Yes
98 Hamlet – Shakespeare – Yes
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl - yes
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo - Yes

So where is the Hemingway? Farewell to Arms, For Whom the Bell Tolls, The Sun Also Rises - Why not The Grapes of Wrath, No Ayn Rand or Carson McCullers? ...all missing. Puzzling

By going over this list I found that I used to read a lot more than I do. I'm going to try to read 3 from this list this year - wonder how I'll do?

How did you do?

Fall is here and it's time to get serious about some knitting

2008-10-02T07:35:00.004-05:00

Wow, there is a snap in the air. I'm baking.
I'm jonesing for some soup. It must be fall. Yay!

I've got my projects all lined up and ready to go.

I've been saving some money for SAFF (Southeast Animal Fiber Fair) and to visit the Knit Witch for a knitting bowl...OMG have you seen those - awesomely coolness. Oh and I need some Potion Lotion and sock yarn...

It's Official!

2008-10-01T08:36:00.002-05:00

The launch is this Saturday at the Mars Hill Heritage Festival.

Stix n Scones is a real business.

Please visit www.stixnscones.com to learn more about this new venture!

Bend it like Beckham? Well...not quite

2008-08-26T08:33:00.005-05:00

So you're in 7th Grade now. School sports are encouraged. So you and a couple of your buddies get together and decide to go out for the school's soccer team. Might be fun - right?

Well you ALL make the team. Fun times are ahead. New cleats, shin guards, uniforms and you are well suited for left midfield.

First game of the season... your opponents came out strong, but you totally shut them down in the 2nd half - way to go rockets!

I'm in the mood for a melody...

2008-06-16T08:58:00.002-05:00

Saturday night.

Robert Plant and Alison Krause. Man, it's hard to believe he's as old as my parents. He can still rock it out. And be darn sexy while he's at it.

My generation was a bit too young to be able to see the Zep on their last tour in 1977... now we probably won't be able to afford too. Ah well, nights like these are nights well spent.

I will say that I had to pick my mouth up off the floor when he sang a gospel song - holy crap - what was that all about. Seriously he seemed to be having a great time. Alison was a little too reserved, but all in all a great show.

/review

Smile time

2008-06-16T08:53:00.002-05:00

So we have begun our journey into orthodontics.

David was a model patient for the initial xray, moulding, photo visit.
Of course the dental technicians are all so nice and help make everything go smoothly. (They even held his hands down so mom could get the picture!)

A straight beautiful smile will soon be his.

Spring is here

2008-06-03T08:46:00.002-05:00

Our flowers are blooming out.

The birds are nesting. The leetle baby snake keeps hiding in the front flower-bed (shudder). And we are enjoying our dinner on the porch - al fresco - each evening.

Of course the prettiest thing in the garden is the Princess Izzy Belle, who holds court on the swing, in the bird bath (when it's empty) and generally anywhere she wants.

Raleigh Bound

2008-04-03T08:03:00.002-05:00

8am tomorrow morning the Science Olympiad Team heads to Raleigh for State Competition. 4 1/2 hours on a bus with 25 middle schoolers, overnight in a hotel and two days roaming a college campus. God bless teachers!

The kids will be fine, they will be busy competing and watching events. The teachers will deserve an extra gold star (or several) after this weekend. How fortunate we are to have teachers who willing give up weekends and family time to help our kids learn, grow, compete and flourish. Most of you know, mine is a science geek in the best of ways - he also happens to be a closet NC State fan (don't let all that Duke blue fool you - he's been a Pack member a loooong time).

How will mom fare? Hm, it's little man's first - overnight - without a family member or close friend involved. I'll worry. He won't think twice about it. Another growing up milestone comes to pass.

Spring Break Adventures

2008-04-02T12:28:00.007-05:00

Well, here we are 'back to the grind' after 10 days of fun, sun and well more fun. We ventured down to St. Augustine to visit with Julz and Mark - who put us up for a few days. We had a fantastic time. We visited the World Golf Hall of Fame, climbed the lighthouse, visited the Castillo de San Marcos (aka the Fort @ St. Augustine), took a ghostly pirate cruise around the bay and yes, they DO fire the cannons from the Fort at nighttime! That was just the first day!

We slowed down after that however... we did manage to see all the sights - the Old Jail, the Fountain of Youth (who really would drink sulfur water??) we especially enjoyed walking around the Mission of Nombre de Dios and Our Lady of La Leche Shrine which was beautiful and peaceful.

We had our fill of shrimp at Barnacle Bills (aka Barnacle Bobs - thanks to Mark). And good home cooking thanks to Julz' mom on Easter Sunday :)

Probably one of the best things about our trip was our day spent at TPC/Sawgrass - THE hub of the PGA. If you know anything about golf (and I know just a little) this place is like Mecca for golfers. And it is breath-takingly beautiful. The clubhouse is open to the public - you can go and have drinks or lunch.

They even have "Storytellers" who are like private tour guides that take you around and explain the history of the place and I will say - ours was FANTASTIC. He drove us out in a golf cart around the course, pointed out where game winning shots were made, how a full 6 weeks before the big tournament there - the crew is already setting up for the event (and will be at a dead run until gameday). He explained how some of the holes were designed, where pin placement is on a weekday vs. a weekend vs. a tournament - even how the ladies tees were set (by the designers wife!)

Toward the end of our tour - after he had been gracious enough to take us up to the 2nd floor balcony so we could see Fred Funk out on the practice area and take cool panoramic pictures (he even took our picture - I now have proof that I was ON this vacation!)...anyway, we are walking down the stairs on our way out and he asks if we are in any particular hurry to move on to our next thing that day.... uh...no... THIS is our only thing for today... Ok, follow me - around the corner, down a hallway and another staircase down and we find ourselves in .... THE PLAYERS AREA.
David's face was lit up like a Christmas tree. Down the tunnel of champions, where the players walk unaccosted by the public. The caddies were hanging out in their own area - and it's so NOT at all like Caddyshack! So we make it all the way down the tunnel and were heading back when a man is coming toward us (hmmm) ok, it's Jim Furyk - we were quickly escorted out another door - but, how cool was that? Two pros in one day!

After our jaunt in Florida we headed back north - stopping for a couple of days at Lake Hartwell with Mom & Dad - I kid you not when I say the highlight of those few days was my dad wrapping his arm around me and singing (yes-singing) Happy Birthday to me.

As much as I love to travel and visit with friends and family, I am honest when I say I did laundry for one complete day! Oy...and the pile on my desk...I'm still digging out. Oooh I feel the waves beckoning me back to the beach now...

Science Olympiad WINNERS

2008-03-18T07:58:00.003-05:00

Recently we attended the Regional Science Olympiad competition.
Little Man is on the Trajectory Team.

They built a trebuchet from scratch and had to launch a tennis ball to land inside a 5 meter target and a 10 meter target - they took 2nd place.

The day was filled with various events: bottle rockets, egg-onauts, biology, anatomy, etc.

The school won/placed in enough events they took 2nd place overall.

State competition here we come!

New Year's Resolution

2008-01-07T09:08:00.000-05:00

Twelve months ago I took my first knitting class.
Twelve months ago I acquired a new addition.

Hi, my name is Anna and I'm a knit-a-holic.

Really.

I received the most amazing hand spun alpaca yarn from a local farm. It's gorgeous. My mom's reaction was..."pay someone to make something for you, and this is nice stuff." ah-hem. If you know me, you know I heard..."you really don't know what you are doing you don't want to mess this up ." So, with the help of my knitting buddy Becky I ventured into the world of knitting. Wow, what a year it has been. I've made scarves, baby blankets, hats, socks and even a top for me (that I can no longer wear since I've lost weight). I love it. It gives me something to do with my hands on these cold winter days, or when I'm sitting at basketball practice or the doctor's office, on the plane ride to and from, any down time... I'm being productive.

And I love it. For Christmas I made socks for my dad.
He really, really likes them. I've made 2 other pair too - they say either you love to make socks or you hate it (right Becky?) I love it. I've made baby blankets for two (and now a third) friend who have welcomed little ones into the world. I've made scarves for my mom and myself. I've made purses - and even felted one! I have taken chances and succeeded more than I've failed.

So much of our lives are spent buying things. In my small effort to simplify, I have returned to the luxury of handmade things. Things made with love (remember the cooking post? see below). Love is the main ingredient both in what you make and how you make it. So if someone gifts you with a handmade item, remember, they aren't being cheap...they have put their time and love into making it. They are gifting you with a piece of themselves. They thought about YOU each and every hour they spent working on something with YOU in mind.

But with this new addiction has come purchasing... yarn, yarn, needles and more yarn. I am resolving here and now NOT to purchase any more yarn, not to begin another new project until I finish what I have already purchased or started. Yes, David I know, your sweater... your scarf... the two hats that are still in the bag. I promise! I will power through. So if you find me wandering into the yarn store with that deer in headlights look, kindly steer me back out and away - far, far away. I have what I need for now... well, at least until the Fiber Arts Fair in the Fall ;)

Have a great year - I hope it is filled with love and lots of yummy yarn and handmade goods of both the eating and the wearing kind!

Coco

Foxy Mama

2007-12-06T16:42:00.000-05:00

Had to share this morning's gorgeous siting...

We looped around the cemetery this morning on our way to school and saw Mama Fox running - and I mean flat out running hard - across the field. She was beautiful. I had worried that with all the new construction (read: destruction of the woods at the end of our street) that she would have moved on. Not so!

She has obviously eaten well this summer - she was bigger that she was the last time we'd seen her, more filled out. Guess she's getting ready for the winter. No sign of the pups - the must be almost fully grown by now. But it was quite a treat to see her this am.

Culinary Adventures

2007-12-04T16:00:00.000-05:00

Those who know me, know – I LOVE to cook. I love to experiment in the kitchen and I love to prepare food for friends and family.
I will try (almost) anything. Recently I was rearranging the living room and found one of my most treasured cookbooks in the end table. Mangos and Curry Leaves. Wow.

I have never sat down in the living room with a glass of wine and actually read a cookbook from cover to cover.
I did with this one. It’s so much more than a cook book. It’s like the authors have taken you with them on vacation through the subcontinent. I have never had the pleasure of visiting India – hopefully one day, but for now I am content to cozy up with this book on a cool winter’s night with a big zin and settle in for a lesson not only in food, but about the people, the culture and the sheer adventure of travel in such an exotic land.

While I may not live in an exotic adventurous place – I will say that I am able to eat adventurously more often than not. I have recently begun having lunch with a new friend who seems to share my
foodie-ness. Being the daughter of a chef, the sister of a restaurant maven and mom and auntie to the next generation of foodies, I have seldom found people to share my view of food with outside of my family – of which I am not complaining…it just not something that I’ve found the “average” NC resident finds important or enticing
(insert eye roll here). So it should go without much fuss that Steven is also a transplant to this area – having traveled extensively and experienced things that I haven’t (yet) he’s been a lot of fun to get to know. So we have begun meeting at various local eateries that one or the other favors or has had a “good report” about. This is going to be fun. If you know me, again, you know my motto “no chain restaurants” – Steven too, shares this view – all I can say is – yea!
I am at a point and age in my life where I do not have to eat crappy food. I don’t have to, don’t want to, ain’t gonna do it. Thank you for letting me get that off of my chest. I feel lighter somehow.

And now for something completely different…

When I'm in my own kitchen cooking, I find music essential. The right music while I'm chopping, slicing and stirring can transform a mindless chore into a spiritual exercise--a vacation from all the voices in my head. The music helps get me into that relaxed headspace with cooking that really revives you after a long day at work. It takes me to another place, where my creativity can blossom. Even the food can taste different based on the music played. I truly believe, it helps to put the love into the food.

I have go-to music and genres for everything I do in the kitchen. When I’m cooking, I like something upbeat, something that’s motivating and energizing, especially if I’m entertaining. Juan Luis Guerra is in the cd player now...and yes, I'm dancing while cooking too. If the prep is easy and the cooking is pretty straightforward, I like vocals, something I can sing along to during the chopping and washing, but nothing so distracting that I stop paying attention.

When I have to hover over a cookbook and really focus on what I’m doing, like baking - I usually go for something instrumental. I’m a classical musician, so this is easy enough. But I also try to put on something that won’t just fade into the background. Bela Fleck’s Perpetual Motion is in heavy rotation right now. I love the plucky precision of his banjo cutting through the classical repertoire.

If I need a bit more drama, I have an adaptation of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Each of the original Vivaldi seasons, and then the paired movement of Piazzolla’s Seasons in Buenos Aires. It burns with the sun, blows with gale force winds — a completely gorgeous experience.

Cleaning up is a different matter. It’s a hard balance: I need the distraction of a peppy sing-along, but it’s also usually late and it’s been a long night, so something peaceful is in order.

Of course, the music I play when we’re actually eating depends on the day, my mood, the company, and what I’m cooking. Choosing music for a meal is like choosing wine - it can either enhance or detract from the experience.

My Amazing and Extraordinary Life

2007-10-15T14:09:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've had enough down time to let my brain wander. But recently I have begun walking on the paved trails at the Biltmore Estate and that has given my brain the much needed - wandering time - it deserves.

Last Saturday the weather was picture perfect. I started my trek down at the Kitchen Garden and headed toward the lagoon (which is an ideal 4 mile round trip)... as I walked I had an old Duran Duran album playing in my ears - okay, snark if you must, but the back beat on those songs is great for walking! On my way back from the lagoon the song Ordinary World came on, I found a fallen tree and parked myself overlooking the river while the song played. For the first time since the 80's I actually listened to the words of that song...

I turned on the lights, the TV, And the radio
Still I can't escape the ghost of you

What has happened to it all? Crazy, some are saying
Where is the life that I recognize? Gone away

But I won't cry for yesterday
There's an ordinary world
Somehow I have to find
And as I try to make my way
To the ordinary world
I will learn to survive

Well now pride's gone out the window
Cross the rooftops, Run away
Left me in the vacuum of my heart

Papers in the roadside
Tell of suffering and greed
Here today, forgot tomorrow
Ooh, here besides the news
Of holy war and holy need
Ours is just a little sorrowed talk

And I don't cry for yesterday
There's an ordinary world
Somehow I have to find
And as I try to make my way
To the ordinary world
I will learn to survive

Every one, Is my world, I will learn to survive
Any one, Is my world, I will learn to survive

And I realize that I have an amazing wonderful and extraordinary life. It isn't what I had dreamed, planned or expected it to be. That vision of my life is FAR different than the reality I am living. It struck me how UN-ordinary my life had become and how I still struggle with the hope and dream of an ordinary life. But, as I am learning and growing I think this extraordinary life might not be so bad after all. The people I love are healthy, strong and well. The people I have lost, I believe, are in a better place with ones they love as well. I live a realtively quiet life, sure there is some drama I could certainly do without, but on the whole the good things far out-weigh the challenges.

I don't have a lot. But with age (read:wisdom) I have also come to realize that things don't make me happy. I try very hard to be content, though there are times that I would LOVE to have the means to travel and experience new things, that just isn't my life today...but maybe in the future. And that's what I have discovered, my dreams haven't ended, they have simply been put on hold. This isn't my time. I am not the priority I thought I was in my 20's or even 30's. Now is my time to nuture and grow the next generation, until he has his wings - I am tied to the nest. Happily tied, happily giving, happily totally involved in all things "boy".

So not as I could have ever envisioned in my earlier life, the life I have today is far from ordinary and close to my heart in a way I could have never guessed. The ordinary world will be there waiting for me when this part of my journey reaches it's conclusion, so for now I am trying to enjoy the rollercoaster that is my life.

I'm holding on - if I scream, please don't be alarmed. ;)

Labor Day Weekend Fun

2007-09-04T12:28:00.000-05:00

We had a great Labor Day Weekend...

We headed to the lake after work Friday with a stop along the way at the Apple Festival to visit our buddy Stan and check out all the booths. The best by far was the www.baresitall.com booth. A group of Hendersonville ladies who have taken up the cause for breast cancer research. Let's just say, living with an 11-year old severely limited my t-shirt choices. So, I came away with one that reads, "Fight like a girl." Though I really wanted the one that said, "Second base could save your life." After little man had his fill of the biggest gyro ever, we hopped back in the car for the rest of the journey to the lake.

We had a fantastic time with Nana & Papaw all weekend and even got to see J & J's lake house (finally). With our fill of tortas from our fav mex spot and ribs on the grill courtesy of Papaw we headed back north toward home.

While driving we arranged with some friends to stop back at the Apple Festival to view the finale/parade. Boy are we glad we did. Stan driving the big blue truck pulling the bank float...the pirate ship (complete with mermaid, ummm... merman...well, he was... interesting.) David filled up on funnel cake and lemonade.

We finally made it home just in time to shower, change and head to the GPI for the semi-annual neighborhood party - thanks to Stan who included us as his guests! We ate our fill of the yummy buffet and even managed to get little man out on the dance floor - he learned the Electric Slide, once out on the floor, he was hard to get off! It was a great ending to a really fun weekend.

My only regret? Leaving the camera at home!

It's HAWT

2007-08-13T09:41:00.000-05:00

What to do when:
a) you don't have a/c
b) the temps hit 90+everyday
c) it's actually cooler outside than inside

You HIT the waterfall pools! After working waaaay too hard Saturday, doing the usual 'stuff'...we packed up a picnic and our buddies the Mericle Family and headed out to Graveyard Fields on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was perfect. Cooler in the mountains, we were up high enough to be in the clouds for a while. The water was... well, see picture #1 - David's face says it all!

We spent the entire day playing, hiking and eating wild blueberries right off the bush. A great way to spend the last weekend before school starts (Thurs).

Biltmore Estate Summer

2007-06-19T07:58:00.000-05:00

Where can you go and see a house with 43 bathrooms? Hidden passages?
Horses named Bert & Ernie?

Why right in our very own backyard - of course!

We have been given the honor of being a part of a focus group of families to use the Biltmore Estate just like it was our backyard. The Estate is making a very good effort to be attractive to families...so all this summer we plan to make very good use of our "yard".

On Saturday (June 16) David & I, along with our friends, Kim, Lance, Linsey, Millie & Avery spent an enjoyable day checking out the Estate. We began with a tour of the house (since Avery had never been), we let David (a seasoned Biltmore-ite) be our guide - it's amazing the things kids pick out to focus on - (see above re: bathrooms and secret doors). If only he had been at the head of the pack in the salon with Napoleon's chess set (that's Napoleon Bonaparte, Lance ... NOT Napoleon Dynamite!) Don't worry we won't let him forget that slip for quite some time.

After touring the house we headed down to the lagoon for a big picnic lunch...complete with blue dragonflies and geese with their babies. We let the kids burn off some energy in one of the big fields, then headed up to River Bend Farm for some of their super-yum ice cream. There was live music, buttermilk being made and even a nest of baby barn swallows to see. After being rejuvenated with ice cream, we set out across the street to the barn to see the animals...baby chicks, lambs and goats a-plenty greeted us and let us pet them. There is even a blind chicken that you can pick up and hold!

After the barn - it was the mom's turn to play in the kitchen garden... how cool is "love-in-a-mist"? or artichoke plants? they even have a kiwi plant (vine? tree? - it was a little of both)...they even had a touchable plant area for the kiddos. All in all a very cool day.

I'm thinking on my weekend I just might find a shady spot by the river and spend an afternoon reading...but then we also talked about a photographic "safari" of sorts...lots more to see and do...

For more awesome photos of the Estate grounds check out our buddies Steven & Abner's blog, just click on the link down the list on the right...