What Have I Been Doing?

I read some time ago about a mathematical explanation for the phenomenon of "time flies".  Specifically, it referred to our belief that time passes faster as we age.  The explanation offered the following:  When we are, say, 5 years old, any 24 span is a larger proportion of our lives up to that time, so it seems bigger (longer?) than when we are, say 67.  Because the proportion of any 24 span is much smaller, it just seems like it occurs at a faster rate.  I'm not at all sure that this theory is even plausible, but it does offer a convenient excuse for always being so tardy with my posts.  I will, however, endeavor to catch you up with the comings and goings of the Riggsbees.  The problem is that, though I have been extraordinarily busy, I can't remember all in which I have been involved.

Jim's niece and her husband came up over Labor Day.  I can't remember what we did, and I couldn't find any pictures either on my iPhone or on my camera.  Anyway, they were here.  We always have a good time with them.

Alice, Herb, and Lynn

In September, a really great weekend happened.  Back in the 80s I taught special needs kids at Olympic High School in Charlotte.  I had several colleagues while there, but the best two were Alice and Herb.  Around the middle of the decade Alice decided that she was tired of choosing between electricity and food, so she went to work in corporate America.  In '88 I left to do another job in the school system, and Herb left for another school.  Thus broke up the best team in the world! I had not seen either of them in quite awhile until the spring when Alice (who now works for a different corporate entity) came for a weekend visit.  We hatched a plan to get Herb and Libbie (Herb's wife) up here and had a wonderful reunion weekend!  We didn't do much (generally owing to the fact that it poured rain on Saturday), but we never stopped talking and we got caught up on each other's lives.  I love being with people who have played very important roles in my life...and both of them did.  I love you guys!

Alice, Herb, and Libbie

Jim and I have whimsically thought to open up a "Brunswick Stew Camp".  We really like to make the stuff and have discovered that many of our friends like to eat it so we have spent several weekends helping direct the rendition of the delicious brew.  Our guests bring their own ingredients, we help them prepare them, and then we cook and can.  It is so much fun!  Our friends, Karen and Joe, were the latest to take advantage of free labor.  I think we are going to have to make some more for them after the New Year as they have planned to give away most of theirs for Christmas gifts.  Here are a couple pics of work in progress.

Joe

Karen

We also had our annual get together with our college buds, The Big Chill.  I know, I know, it's not a very imaginative name, but it is an awful lot of fun.  This year we had the Shopes, the Blaylocks, the Teasleys, and Chapin.  We ate, sat out by the fire, reminisced, talked about our aches and pains, and what we were going to choose for our health care option during Medicare open enrollment.  I remember wondering why old people spend so much time on health topics.  Now I know!  On a lighter note, though.  Chapin, who was always a ladies man, continued charming all the "girls".  In his other life, he is a Santa Claus, charmer to a younger group.  We look forward to this every year, and I intend to host it as long as I am able.  Apparently, this group intends to come as long as they are able!

Back:  Chapin, Dave, Bob, Jim, Ken
Front: Marti, Claudia, Lynn, Jane

Chapin and the Girls

My good, good, friend Wilma came for a visit in October.  She lives in the north eastern part of the state and the trip is a long one, so she always brings someone with her.  Often, she brings people that I do not know.  That was the case this time when she brought Linda.  Linda's husband is a farmer (retired he says), but still works with Wilma's son doing that farm thing.  I really liked Linda ( as I do everybody Wilma introduces me to) and we had a really good time.  The only thing is that they like to shop so when I went with them they made me buy things!  Truly, not such a bad deal since I did get things for the grand babies!  This picture was taken at Bridal Veil Falls between Highlands and Franklin.

Wilma and Linda at Bridal Veil Falls

I took myself to Charlotte for a couple days right before Thanksgiving.  I usually go because I have an appointment of some sort, but this time I went to see my oldest.  Jon and his family are very busy, and I don't see them very often.  I was missing him, so I went to see him.  We had dinner together with two of the grand babies (Katie and Patti were doing a school project).  It was fun.  During dinner he asked me why I came.  I said "To see you."  I'm not sure he was expecting that answer, but I love his little face!  I did take advantage of the time there to catch up with some friends and my sister, Mary.  Always a highlight is lunch with my friend Chris, who always manages to make an old lady feel like a beautiful woman!  Thanks, Bud!

We stayed home for Thanksgiving this year and shared our bounty with friends Chris and Curt and their family.  We usually go to Charlotte, but this year we decided that the season (May to October)  with its non-stop activities and Jim's frequent business travel had left us somewhat drained.  We came home after TG dinner, watched some movies and some football, did a few chores over the weekend, and generally chilled.  It was nice, really, being less frenetic than usual.  Still, I missed being with family.  Here's a pic of the TG crew. I hope all of you had a blessed day, and were able to be thankful for all the bounty in your lives.

Thanksgiving with the Longs

Tomorrow I leave to go to Texas for about 10 days to be with Adam and his family.  I can hardly wait to see the girls!  Gracie told her parents that she wanted "Mimi-beans" for Christmas.  Those are beans that I grew in my garden.  I sent a dozen jars home with them when they were here this summer.  I wish I could figure out a way to get some to her now!

Probably will not be in touch until after the holidays, but I hope each of you has a wonderful season with family and friends.  MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I leave you with a "porch portrait" and with something I saw at the vet's the other day:

WAG MORE; BARK LESS!

October Sunrise

Summer Overview

Usually, when I add to this blog, I am hard-pressed to figure out what I have done with my time, but this time that is not the case.  I have been busy, busy, busy with summer activities...and they're not over yet, but it's been a fun time up here on the ridge.

Jim, Elyse, Lynn

The daughter of our friends, Chris and Curt, got married this summer.  Elyse and Shep have been an item for a long time, and finally decided to tie the knot.  I helped Chris with a shower early in the summer, and the wedding was held in Raleigh in Shep's grandparents' beautiful garden in early August.    It was a lovely event, and we were happy that we were part of it.








I had great plans for July 4.  Adam and Shanna and the girls were here and I planned to have Shanna's parents as well as some cousins from Alabama over for a cookout and fireworks.  There were going to be about 30 people in all.  But, as is sometimes the case, events conspired to thwart my well-laid plans. This summer has been very wet and cool.  It rained daily for weeks it seems, but the day before the celebration, the amount of rain that fell was just obscene!  Not only that, but the forecast for July 4 was for more of the same (a forecast that played out just as billed).  Even as big as my house is, I couldn't have 30 people in it with no opportunity for anyone to get outside.  Even the covered porches were wet and there was not a single dry chair anywhere.  So, I had to cancel the celebration.  I hated that because I was going to get to see cousins that I had not seen since they were small, and their toddler children.  Anyway, it turned out to be just Adam, Shanna, and the girls, and we had to forego the fireworks until later in the summer when there was actually some clear weather.  I'll bet many of you experienced the same thing.  The rain and cool weather have continued but we are now in a period of little precipitation.  I'm loving it!!!

Joe with Lynn and Jim

Our friend Joe (who lives in Virginia) came to the area for a short visit this summer.  His sister has a place in Brevard, so we met them for lunch one day and they came up here for dessert.  Joe and his wife Bev lived next door to us when we lived in Charlotte.  They were wonderful friends and we have kept in touch all these years.  Joe wasn't used to the cool mountains.  I had to get him a jacket!

Bob, Barbara, and Joe

Jon and Adam and their families were all together with us for a few days in July.  About the only time that we can all be together is during the youngest Riggsbees annual visit from Texas.  It is always fun and we spend a lot of time laughing.  Jon and Adam are like brothers everywhere, and Jim always eggs things on!  The cousins always have a good time together, and MiMi just loves the togetherness.

Adam, Shanna, Avery, and Gracie

Jon, Patti, Lauren, Katie, Jonathan

Nub's Babies

Last summer we had a bird couple build a nest on the ground under a bathroom window.  They hatched 3 babies, one of which had a very short tail.  When it became time for them to leave the nest and perfect the art of flying, the one with the short tail was identifiable as a "special needs" bird.  We named this little thing "Nub". The mama bird worked and worked with this fledgling and it finally got the hang of this very necessary skill.  This year another bird couple built a nest in one of the ferns that hangs on our front porch.  Imagine our excitement when we discovered that the female unit of this couple was Nub!!!  She and her mate built a beautiful nest and reared 4 little hatchlings, none of which had a short tail!

My garden this year has had mixed success.  The green beans have done very well (I have canned 30 quarts), as has the cabbage and pepper.  Squash was attacked by cut worms, and I lost 3 out of 6 plants.  Replacement plants decided to die on me, so I just decided to quit worrying about them.  Not sure what happened to the cukes, but I suspect that the rain and cool weather just didn't set the optimum growing condiditons.  I got some, but not enough to do anything with.  And the tomatoes, despite a great beginning, finally succumbed to blight.  I pulled green tomatoes and made relish, but I'd rather have been canning red ones.  I bought corn and creamed 40 quarts, and put up 40 pints of peas (also purchased).  My sister and I made 40 quarts of Brunswick stew, so I'm pretty well set for the winter.

Sparkle

One of the casualties of the long, wet summer was a little female raccoon.  She appeared on our porch one rainy afternoon, drenched and exhausted, trying to get enough bird seed to slack her hunger.  She was obviously heavily nursing, so we decided to give her some dog food.  She ate with a ravenous appetite, ignoring the frantic barking of the dog inside the house.  Daily we have put out food for her, but she has not brought her babies up to feed (though it is past time for them to be traveling with her), so we think that she may have lost them in one of the deluges that plagued the area.  Gracie and Avey were here when she came and the christened her "Sparkle".  I have been reducing the amount of food that I have been giving her to encourage her to do some foraging for herself, but just haven't had the heart to stop completely.  She is not scared of us and allows us to walk out on the porch while she is there. We don't want to domesticate her, but we are silly softies when it comes to living things in distress.  By the way, she isn't afraid of the dog, either, though we don't tempt fate by letting him out while she is in transit!

One of the best things this summer was a visit from my first cousin, Bill, and his family.  They live in the Dallas, TX area and I have not seen him since his wedding in 1999!  He is my first cousin, but is  about Jon's age.  We met him, Yvette, and their three boys in Charlotte at Jon's house, where we all enjoyed a cookout.  Bill and Yvette's boys are SO nice...polite, respectful, and just generally good kids.  They are about the same ages as Jon's three, so after a little circling around, they started playing together.  I wish we could have had longer with them!  One of the things Bill asked me was "Are we going to make "The Hillbilly Chronicles"?  So, yes, Bill.  Here you are!

Bill, Yvette, Joshua, Willie, David

The Crew at Jon's House

Still have a few more good times waiting for us this summer.  Jim's niece and her husband will come for a Labor Day weekend visit.  We will all have a cookout with my sister and her friends from Atlanta over the weekend; we are going to have a reunion with some colleagues of mine from Olympic High School in September, and, of course, the annual Big Chill with our college friends in October.  After that things slow down for the winter.  Only Susan wants to come when it snows!

Enjoy the slide into fall.  We love you!  I leave you with another Porch Portrait.

Summer Begins

I know I say this every time, but I have no idea where my time goes.  It's been 2 1/2 months since I last posted.  I guess my life is boring, but somehow or another, I've just never noticed!

Wilma, Lisa, and Marianne

Starfish Sculptue

Went to the beach with some friends in May...Wilma, Lisa, and Marianne.  I didn't know Marianne before the beach trip, but found her to be just delightful.  Wilma has been my friend since dirt, and Lisa has been a friend for maybe 12 or 14 years.  I don't go to the beach too often, so this was really a nice treat.  We stayed at Atlantic Beach at a place called Peppertree, apparently a very popular spot for tourists.  While there we spent precious little time on the beach, but went to Beaufort, Swansboro, Emerald Isle, Harkers Island, and other places that have escaped my memory.  I didn't know much about the history or the geography of the area and learned a lot of interesting things.  The respite was fun, and being with good friends with whom one can laugh and cry is always therapeutic.  The starfish sculpture was done by some children playing on the beach.  I walked past them while they worked and when I came back they had abandoned it to the tide, so I captured it in photo for posterity.

Our grandson (the only one) Jonathan, Jr. received his first Holy Communion in early May.  This event is a special time in the lives of young Catholics, and we are always honored and proud to be a part of this family celebration.  He wouldn't stay still long enough for me to get a picture of him alone, so you'll have to settle for one with big sister, Katie.  Well, I tried, but the pic kept posting sideways and I couldn't figure out how to get it right.  Sorry!

Alice

During my professional days, I abrutptly changed a position in an elementary school to one in a high school...pretty much a culture shock.  One of the high school teachers in my department took me under her wing, and I credit her with sheparding me through the adjustment.  We became very good friends and shared the joys and heartaches of our lives for many years.  Then she left education for work in the corporate world, and I moved on to other things.  We saw each other infrequently for some time and then sort of lost touch altogether.  But through the magic of Facebook we reconnected where we picked up right where we left off.  It is so wonderful to have never-ending friendships, and I count myself lucky to have a number of these.  Alice came to visit Jim and me one weekend and we had the most wonderful time!  In addition to never shutting up, we shopped a little, rode around and looked at the scenery, and cooked.  She brought her dog, Emmie, with her.  She and Chet got along very well, though they never did bond as good friends.  They are both rescue dogs, and it was very interesting deciding which one was the most neurotic.  I think Emmie might have taken the prize, though Chet is not the most fearless animal in existence!

Little Hearing Devices

I finally decided to get with the program and admit that I am aging.  Along with many other old age maladies, I can't hear very well.  It was really getting tiresome, as I was constantly having to say"Excuse me." or "Please say that again."  So I broke down and got hearing aids.  I LOVE THEM!!!  They have really changed my life.  I can hear sounds that I had forgotten existed, and I rarely have to ask anyone to repeat himself (unless he is really soft-spoken).  They are tiny little digital things that can be adjusted digitally to accommodate changes in one's hearing.  The only bad thing is...I could have had a very nice diamond ring for what those things cost!  I console myself with the knowlege that diamond rings can't help you hear.

Karen and Joe

Several posts ago I told you about my friend Karen from high school whom I had recently reconnected with after 45 years.  She and her husband Joe came to spend a weekend with us a couple weeks ago, and we had another great time.  They are so kind and let me stay with them when I am in Greensboro visiting my mother.  It's so good to be around them.  Jim really, really likes Joe and we spend a lot of time laughing.  They are so easy to be around.  We had such a good time that we asked them to stay for another day when they were here and they did!  It was very cool and rainy, so we stayed in and watched movies all day.  That is a luxury that we are rarely afforded, so it was really a special event.

I am planning a July 4 event with my daughter-in-law, Shanna,  the grandchildren, and Shanna's folks.  We did this last year and it was such fun that we thought a repeat was certainly in order.  In the meantime, a cousin who lives in Birmingham told me that he and his family were coming to Maggie Valley for that week and they would like to come see us.  Of course, I invited them to celebrate with us.  It is going to be quite a crew, but we will see people that we either have never met or whom we have not seen in a very long time.  I am looking forward to it.  I am also going to get to keep the granddaughters for several days BY MYSELF!!!  I am so excited.  I am planning to take them on a canopy adventure (benign for little people), and maybe to Chimney Rock.  Their other grandmother is coming to hang out with us, so we'll all have fun.  They live in Texas and time with them is scarce and precious.

Fo many years, my mother's family has had a reunion here in the mountains.  This year was the 122nd Coward Reunion. It began as a birthday celebration for my great-great-grandfather and was a very big deal when most of the family lived nearby.   For several decades, it has been relinquishing some of it's glamour, but in the last ten years it has been getting smaller and smaller.  This year there were only 3 attendees...Jim and I were two of them, and my cousin Jule was the other.  He has been the de facto leader of the group for a long time.  Sadly, we decided to end the tradition.  There are many reasons for its demise, but the biggest are time and distance.  My mother's generation was the last that really revered the tradition, and most of them have passed on or are very elderly and infirm.  Nevertheless, we will continue to carry on the tradition of family with our own nuclear units, understanding that we are all products of those who have come before.

Jule rings the bell for the last time

I'm going to leave you with a couple of shots, only one of which is a Porch Portrait.  Jewel the racoon is a little thief and I was able to catch her in the act!  The flowers were on a rhododendron bush that was particularly full this year.  All the rhodos bloomed prettily this year.  The flame azalea is just beginning so I will put it on the next post.

Have a wonderful, restful, summer.  Love to all.

Jewel, Birdseed Thief 

Blooming Rhododendron

The Little Things in Life

So many little things happen in the course of life.  Things that bring one sadness and joy and that are often forgotten in the rush of the day to day.  That's the focus of this blog.

You may or may not know that my mother has moved from her home to an assisted living facility.  I really hate to use the word "moved".  It has connotations of removing her while she was kicking and screaming.  (Now that I think of it, that isn't too far from the truth.)  But she has outlived her ability to care for herself and the decision had been put off as long as possible.  She is cared for and safe, but that is not to say that she is happy.  Her adjustment has been difficult, but she seems to have weathered the hardest part...hopefully.  We all visit often and my sister and brother continue to do many of the day to day things for her.

I do have a funny story about one of the residents there who lives across the hall from her.  He is a gentleman who doesn't appear to be as old as Mom, but I think his younger life was spent as a Casanova of sorts.  One day I was leaving and I kissed Mom goodbye and told her I loved her.  This fella was coming out of his room and asked for a kiss.  Thinking nothing of it, I pecked him gently on the lips and left.  The next day I saw him at "Happy Hour" and he asked me if I was Elaine's daughter.  I responded in the affirmative and then he asked me if I was married.  Again I responded affirmatively, at which time he stalked away.  A little later he came up to me again and said "If your husband decides to divorce you, let me know.  I love pretty women."  I assured him that I would do so and went about my rat killing which included trying to get Mom's door locked.  He apparently saw me struggling and volunteered to help, but only after he snuck up on me, poked me in the sides and tickled me.  I was talking to Jim at the time and screamed out loud at the surprise.  It was then that I decided that this was a little more than benign interest.  I avoided him thereafter and haven't been back to GSO, but it will be interesting to see what happens when I go back in a couple of weeks.  Who knew there would be such opportunity at a retirement home?

Lisa, Lynn and Chester

My friend Lisa came to visit one weekend.  Her husband and son were busy with other things so she ventured up.  I have known her for many years (she is about the age of my children) and worked with her at Ardrey Kell and Waddell high schools in CMS.  We had a wonderful time.  She is such a lovely person and I hope she brings her family next time.

My sister, Mary, and her children came for a couple of days this week.  We took a field trip to the Foxfire Museum in Mountain City, GA.  I think the kids were underwhelmed, but Mary and I had a good time.  We went shopping in Highlands on the way back.  I shopped until I couldn't walk into another store,  I went back to the car and played games on my iPhone while waiting for Ana and Mary to finish.  Zach went with me and he listened to music.  It was good to see all of them.  They brought their dog, Daisy, and she and Chester spent much of their time begging from the treat jar.

Mary, Anna, and Zach

The Beggars

Mary Fits This Coffin Better than Jim

Chester trapped a racoon one morning on the fence around the "puppy prison".  The spikes on this fence are very sharp and are designed to deter wild animals that might try to get to Chester when we leave him alone.  He has a crippled leg and defending himself is iffy.  Anyway, I let him out before daylight one morning and heard all this wild barking.  Upon investigation, I saw that he had a racoon trapped on top of the fence.  I believe that this is the little female that we have named Rachaela.  Anyway, it took hours before I was able to get him in, and was well up into the morning by then.  I thought she would just disappear, but she apparently was hung up on one of the spikes.  She chewed and chewed and I was preparing to remove her from the fence.  (I was going to throw a tarp over her, using thick leather gloves, and lift her off.)  But before I got all my equipment ready she had extricated herself.  I was afraid that she had chewed her paw off, but I only saw hair and blood, no body parts.  Life is hard for wild animals. I hope she will be okay.  I think that we get so used to our domesticated pets that we don't even think about all the unforgiveness that happens in nature.

"Treed"  Racoon

We had what I hope is our last snow in late March...about 4 inches.  The weather has been reasonably mild this winter (not as mild as last winter, but not as terrible as our first two winters here).  I am SO ready for spring.  Am going to plant some cabbage today, and may try some turnip greens.  Will soon get some small tomato plants and move them in and out so they will be bigger when I can plant them outside around May 15.  Seeds for squash and cuke I will start around the end of April so they will be a good size for planting at the same time.

Late March Snow

Will be traveling to CLT tomorrow for a weekend visit.  Adam is in North Carolina and we are planning a small family get together with Jon and his family.  Do you remember the days you couldn't WAIT to get rid of your kids?  Now I can't wait to see them!

Hope all is well with all of you and that the taxman hasn't been too onerous!

I leave you with a porch portrait.  Love to all.

Winter Sky

Escape from Boredom

King Sleep Number with Queen Headboard

I'm not sure that I have really escaped from boredom, but my recent days at least have had some substance to them.  After my last post, my new Sleep Number bed arrived.  I know that Sleep Number is supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread, but I don't like everything about it.  First of all, it is a split king, which is synoymous with two twins beds placed side by side.  There is a space between the two (Jim calls it a cleft) which makes it hard to snuggle.  I think I have seen soemthing that can be placed in this cleft, but then, if one of us wants to raise the bed one his/her side what happens?  Secondly, the guys who put the thing together for us didn't align the mattresses correctly and one of them sticks out farther on one end while the other mattresss sticks out farther on the other.  This thing is attached to so many hoses and cords that we can't get them straight.  And, the use of a bedskirt to hid all that stuff is impossible, owning to the fact that the hoses that inflate the mattresses stick up through the bottom of the foundation and the two shan't be separated.  One must have a real bed or purchase a silhouette from the Sleep Number store...nothing in which is cheap...to avoid the IC London dance.  Thirdly, you can't just set your sleep number and forget it.  To avoid an indentation in your mattress, you must set the number at 100 for a time, reduce it to 50 for a time, and then return to your preferred number.  This must be done weekly.  But it doesn't really work. I still have a "hole".  The good news is that it won't get any worse.  But having said all that, the sleep is great!  The mattresses don't transfer motion, so I don't wake up every time Jim turns over and I awake rested instead of feeling like I have been wrestling alligators all night.  I opted to keep it (we had 30 days to decide) even with it's imperfections.  We are going to get a real bed whenever we have time to go looking for one.  In the meantime, Jim decided to put the old queen headboard behind the bed.  I have been married to him for 44 years and I did not know that when he turns over in bed, he grabs the headboard (I did wonder for many years why there were so many fingerprints on it).  Without the headboard, he put his hands on the wall and he was afraid he'd have to paint it!  So, it looks kind of funny, but that will be short lived.

Katie

Reni

Jonathan and Patti

Adam with Avery and Gracie

Any proud grandmother will share the latest pics of her grandchildren with you.  I am totally amazed how beautiful my grandchildren are.  I am sure that they are the most beautiful in the world, so don't argue with me.  I had a short visit to Charlotte and saw Jon's family, and Adam sent some pics  of his girls just before they went to the father/daughter dance.


My mother (age 89) has come to stay with us for a short time while my siblings and I make some decisions about her care going forward.  She fell a couple of weeks ago and, while she did not do lasting or critical damage to herself, she was pretty beat up.  She didn't call anybody and it was about 12 hours later when my brother found out about it.  We have known for some time that this day was coming, but it is difficult for everyone, nonetheless.  Mom is very pleasant and easy, but I'm still tired!  I am glad, however, that I am in a position to take care of her at this time of her life.  She told me today after she had taken a little nap in the chair that she had been dreaming.  I asked her what she had dreamed about and she said, "Sewing Villager dresses."  For those of you not in my generation, Villager was a brand name and was the brand that all girls had to have.  They had a wide variety of dresses and skirts and sweaters, etc. for the young lady, but they were somewhat expensive.  As I grew up in a lower middle class family, there wasn't a lot of money to go around when it came to clothing four children.  So, Mama went to a clothing store, looked at the shirt waist dresses, came home and, being the consummate seamstress,  designed a pattern for us, and made us a number of "Villager" dresses.  If you didn't look at the tag, you'd not know the difference.  Mama sewed for many years and made all of our prom dresses and wedding gowns as well as our everyday clothes.  After we were all grown, she learned how to make porcelin dolls and then sewed their outfits too.  She has not sewn in many years now as her hands shake and the tediousness of sewing took its toll on her nerves.  I still remember her taking us to the remnant store to pick out material for something she was going to make.  I did learn to sew, but never reached the state of expertise that she did.  My youngest sister, Mary, also sews and she's pretty good, too.  I think sewing is a lost art these days.  Every now and then I think I'll set up the machine that I still have and do something with it, but somehow or another, I never get there.

Mama Watching UNC Basketball

Adam came for a short visit yesterday while he was in North Carolina doing some contract work for his old company.  It was good to see him.  I meant to get a pic of him and mother, but I forgot until after he left this morning.  Oh well.  Next time.  He did say that Shanna has told him that he has 18 months to move her and the girls back to NC.  I LOVE IT!!!  I doubt if she will come back without him, though, if he doesn't make the deadline! :):)

Those of you who grew up in Greensboro will remember the Boar and Castle, the ONLY place to be seen.  They had great food (served by waiters at the curb) and a great sauce.  I found some at Harris Teeter some years ago, but the last time I looked it wasn't there.  I wonder if they no longer make it?  Anyway, I found this bottle while unpacking some boxes from my move (3 years ago).  Thought you might take a trip down memory lane!

Boar and Castle Sauce

I leave you with a picture that I took at dusk one night.  The full moon had already risen and the colors in the sky were beautiful.  Of course, it is a Porch Portrait!

Love to all!

December Odds and Ends

Winter Glaze

It's winter in the mountains.  The first two winters I lived here, we had non-stop snow.  If you were reading my blog then you might remember how pitiful I was when I got snowed in every other week!  Last winter was very mild, and this one is shaping up to be pretty benign.  Nevertheless, we have had a little snow and some ice.  The picture above was taken after we had freezing rain and snow.  It was very pretty, sparklingly translucent with the sun shining through.  Unfortunately, my photography doesn't capture its essence.  Enjoy, anyway.

When I last posted, I had returned from a Texas visit, celebrated Thanksgiving, and decorated my house for Christmas.  I do have a few updates for you:  Shanna's chicken eventually disappeared without a trace.  She got so tired of experiencing their little deaths that she put the whole outfit up for sale (Shanna calls it "rehoming")... chickens, hen house, feeders and waterers, and I guess the fencing, too.  The last I heard there have been no takers.  Not that I blame anybody.  Chickens are SO nasty!  However, if you are in the market...I can probably get you a deal!

I finally got a tree topper.  A new Michael's opened in Waynesville and I found a nice nativity star there.  I never got it on the tree, though.  I actually had to depend on Jim to do that, but in his most Grinch-like manner, he just "didn't have time."  I finally gave up as I have discovered in the last 44 years that if I don't capture him and get him to do everything all at once, it isn't going to get done!  Next year...

I have a friend who called me on Christmas morning.  At least, my iPhone said she did.  It was pretty early, a little out of character fro her, but I just figured that she had a busy day and needed to get an early start.  Anyway, I texted her back to say I was sorryI missed her call.  Several hours later she returned the text (must have been investigating) saying that she thought it must have been one of her dogs who called me as her phone had been laying on the floor.  This is a first...I've  never been butt-dialed by a dog before!

I don't think there is a future on the silver screen for me and Jim working as co-stars.  In an effort to show my family how technologically savy I have become, I had the bright idea of videoing a little spot with my iPhone and messaging it (see, I really have the vocab down pat) to our loved ones. So I enlisted the assistance of a friend and Jim and I stood in front of our festively decorated fireplace and Chris held the phone while we spoke Christmas greetings together.  Well, I don't want to say that we were inept, but it took us about seven tries before we got one that was decent.  And all we were saying was "Merry Christmas".  Luckily we didn't have to speak the Gettysburg address or recite the Declaration of Independence.  We were out of sync, we laughed while trying to speak our message, Chris chopped off part of our rather short speech, and we were being attentive to other things in the room.  We finally got one, though.  I had visions of doing the same thing for New Year's but sending it to more people.  That vision died aborning.  It was just too much trouble.  So, sorry you didn't get the message, but

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

We decided to go to Asheville (the closest real town in this part of the world) sometime right after Christmas to see a movie.  Now, mind you, there were many good ones to choose from ("Skyfall", "The Hobbit", and some others).  Instead, we chose "Lincoln".  Fooled by the critical acclaims, we sat through 2 1/2 hours of absolute boredom.  I understand that the movie is based on Doris Kearns Godwin's book, but I've read that book and the movie bears a resemblance to it only by virtue of the fact that she discusses the passage of the 13th amendment within its pages.  Daniel Day Lewis did a fine job as Lincoln, Sally Field was very good in the role of the Hellcat, and Tommy Lee Jones is a favorite of mine; but the lack of passion (other than was noted in some of the abbreviated speeches given by members of the House) was astounding.  There was little action, and no real plot.  None of the characters was really developed, and some license was taken with historical fact.  If you haven't seen it, you might consider not.

Sweet Chet

Our little Chester had a "birthday" a few days ago.  He came to us on a frigidly cold night with a heavy sleet falling, very thin and obviously hungry.  We had just begun the rennovation of our house.  The decks were down, we couldn't get under the house, and there was no place to get him out of the weather except inside.  So, inside he came.  We fed him catfood, gave him water, and he immediately went to sleep on the rug in front of the door.  He did not move all night.  We live on top of a mountain.  There are two ways to get here...up a mile-long driveway or up a very steep hill.  Somehow or another this poor dog managed.  He was on his last leg, and I do not doubt that chances were slim that he would survive the night.  The next morning we were, understandably, cautious with a strange dog in the house.  We shouldn't have worried...this dog was, and remains, a cupcake.  We put him out, though (the day had dawned bright, clear, and very cold) with the idea that he might go home (collarless though he was).  He didn't.  Apparently, he had been house hunting, and he hunted this one down.  We noticed he had a limp and we looked to see if he had a hurt leg.  What we found was that he had broken his left rear leg, and his "owners" had not seen fit to have it set, so it had healed crookedly, making that leg shorter than the others.  Hence, the name "Chester".   If you're old enough you will recognize the name of Matt Dillon's sidekick in "Gunsmoke".  He stayed, following me around like I was his mother, but avoiding Jim.  We figure that he had been mistreated by a man, and perhaps it had been a man that put him out. He is a hound mix and was probably bred for hunting.  Of course, a crippled dog is not a good hunter, so that explained his homelessness.   He  cowered and slinked away when we were picking up sticks, hid from loud noises, and preferred me to Jim.  When it came time to go back to Charlotte, Chester went with us, and became part of the traveling road show as we came back and forth.  He has been with us for 9 years.  We think he is about 10 or a little older.  We asked the vet in Charlotte what we could do for his leg.  She said we could amputate it.  We declined.  When he was young he could run about 25 miles an hour even with that bum leg.  He's considerably slower now (like his owners).  He and Jim are attached at the hip, and he is no longer afraid of anything except bears and thunder.  He is the world's best dog (no arguing) and has enriched us beyond imagining.

I've updated my book list.  I have, however, read this book that I shall not name because it is, quite possibly, the worst book I have ever read.  It billed itself as a woman's novel.  What it really was was a romance a la Danielle Steele.  Romance is a genre that I never read because the books are so tacky, and I don't want you to think that I am tacky too!  Nevertheless, it became apparent early on that this was a "romance" with a capital R.  So what did I do?  Did I recognize its sordidness and decide not to waste my time with this tripe?  No.  What I did was read every word of this thing, immersing myself in the silliness of the female protagonist.  Lord!  Go figure.  No argument that it was a waste of time.  I just can't figure out why I kept on reading.

I took down all my Christmas decorations yesterday.  It took me 3 or 4 days to put them up, but I went on a mission yesterday to get them packed away.  It took 8 hours and when I was finished I was stiff and sore, and thought that if I had to go up the steps one more time, I might just not make it!  Am I too old for this?  Possibly.  But I do love it when the house is all dressed up in festive garb, so I guess I'll keep it up as long as the Grinch will help me a little bit.

My new Sleep Number bed comes on Saturday!  The bedding came today (specially made for a split king bed). It was wildly expensive.  Luckily, I got it for 50% off.  That made me feel better as I am inherently cheap  and spending lots of money makes me feel decadent, an affectation that makes me uncomfortable.  Still, I'm looking forward to sleeping.  I'll put a picture in my next blog.

Hope all is well with all of you.  If you are still working and had to suffer reentry after the holidays, I'm sorry!  If you're retired, rejoice in the fact that you can actually rest up after the holidays!

Love to all!  

I'll end with another Porch Portrait, one of my million sunrises.  Jim took this picture yesterday, I think.  These are some of the most vibrant colors I have ever seen.

Mountain Sunrise