Visitors, Celebrations, Family, and Other Stuff

I've been out of touch for a long time, but it is summer in the mountains and things have a way of spinning out of control.  We have had some guests, have been involved in some community activities, and have otherwise gone about the usual tasks involved in living from day to day.  The summer is coming to an end quickly, though, and it won't be long until the long, slow, cold days of winter assail us.  I never mind those, at least I don't mind them now that I know what to expect.  You'll remember my first winter here...um, um, um.  Neal told me I sounded pretty pitiful in my blogs from that winter.  I didn't mean to, though.  Last winter was very kind, but I hope for a little more cold and snow this winter...especially since the mildness didn't kill all the bugs that invaded my garden this year!

My friends Wilma and Lisa came for a visit.  Wilma and I taught school together when we were young teachers in a small eastern NC school.  I met Lisa through her.We had a good time roaming the mountains, talking, and catching up.  Wilma and her sister are coming back in a couple of weeks for a short visit.  I always love seeing her, though our times together are few and far between.  I keep saying that I'm going east to see her sometime "this winter", but so far I haven't gotten there.  You know what they say about good intentions!  This picture is of the three of us with "my" mountains as a backdrop.  JR took it for us, but we had to have him take a large number of shots since we didn't want to get our stomachs in them!  Oh, the vanity of old ladies!

Lisa, Wilma and Lynn

My sister had a "Celebrate Everything" event at her house in late August.  This celebration is an on-going attempt to keep our families connected.  We have held it in various locations over the years.  This year, neither of my children were able to come, Mama didn't feel like making the brief trip, and my other siblings were also unable to make it.  Nevertheless, Judy's family was there, as well as one of my brother's sons along with his girlfriend and mother, and some good friends of Judy and John.  Here are some pics of my nephews and some others who are important to them.

Lee

David and Alix

Ceci, Curtis, and Kerry

Jim's niece Fran and her husband Neal came for several days.  They are always such easy guests, and always manage to help us get things done that we leave undone out of sloth!  This time we cleaned out a storage container that Jim has sold.  There were a number of heavy items in it and it was very excellent to have some young bodies to help with the lifting.  I confess to not lifting too much.  :):)  Following is a picture of Fran and Neal.  Fran is coming back with her mother soon.

Fran and Neal

While they were here we had a "blue moon".  They only occur about every 2/1/2 years and aren't really blue, but the name refers to the second full moon in a calendar month.  Pretty, wasn't it?

August's Blue Moon

We belong to a little community group whose mission is to provide college scholarships to students from this area.  Each year we have a bazaar.  Jim and I work very hard to help make it a success as do all our community members.  The interesting thing is that most of the members who work this bazaar are really elderly (Jim and I are the youngest in the group).  Below are a couple of people who are in the group.  Dottie puts it together every year.  Amazing!

Jule, President of the CDC

Dottie (facing), with Rose, choosing raffle winners

 I took myself to Charlotte for a couple of days to go to the dentist and to visit my grandchildren. (Their parents are chopped liver.)  They are so cute.  Jonathan was playing a baseball game, and the girls were hanging out at the field along with the rest of the family (grandparents, cousins, etc).  Katie is in 7th grade so she was busy with homework.  Reni entertained all the little kids, and JJ was the star of the game!  Aren't they cute?

Katie

Reni

Jonathan

I'm still trying to finish the fantasy, Song of Ice and Fire.  I'm into the fourth book (almost finished).  There is another one to go, but I may take a break and read something else.  It's good, though, and I can't wait for the next season of Game of Thrones!

Clearly, I have too much time on my hands.  This picture is in the vein of the chicken resort I posted earlier this summer.  When I was at Biltmore last time I bought a piece of yard art.  It happened to be a grasshopper which I deposited in a flower bed in front of my house.  In the meantime, some volunteer impatiens came up.  One of them flowered right in the "hands" of the grasshopper.  I decided that she looked like a bride with her bouquet.  Hence, the "grasshopper bride".  What do you think?  :):)

The Grasshopper Bride

Hope all is well with all of you.  I leave you with a "Porch Portrait"...a beautiful sunrise.  Enjoy!  Love to all.

Sunrise Across the Hills

Family Fun; Bears and Chickens; Tomatoes and Fog

The Boys and Their Families

Adam and Shanna and their girls came for their annual summer visit.  They were here for several weeks and stayed with us for much of the time.  Jon and Patti and their children came for a weekend and a wonderful time was had by all.  In addition to the usual family comraderie, the young people spent an afternoon hiking and visiting a biological center where Adam used to work, leaving MiMi and PapaJim to peace and quiet for a few hours!  While everyone was here we cooked, ate, sat around a fire and made s'mores and shot off benign fireworks.  I know that all of you know how special it is to have loved ones around, but words to describe it are hard to find.  The intensity of the feeling fills the heart to bursting, and words become tears of joy.

The Little Riggsbees, July 2012

MiMi and PapaJim with Gracen, Lauren, Katelyn, Jonathan, and Avery

 I've told you about the bear before.  Heretofore, we haven't seen him, but that changed last Sunday night.  He has been here numerous times in his quest for food, and one time he managed to tear up our rock wall looking for grubs.  Perhaps he found some and decided to come back.  Jim and I were sitting in the great room and, suddenly, there he was, turning up rocks looking for whatever is under rocks.  The dog was going crazy and Jim got his gun and shot over his head.  He took off like a shot.  We haven't seen him since, and I hope we don't.  We don't want to have to kill him.  After all, we moved into his territory.  He appears to be a young bear, perhaps he has just left his mother, and he sure is scruffy looking!  He is standing on a wall that is about 40 feet from our front porch.

 While Gracie and Avery were visiting their other grandmother in Asheville, I drove over and we took the girls to the Western North Carolina Nature Center.  It's a really neat place with lots of native animals.  They are in a natural habitat zoo, and most of them have been injured previously and are protected by the zoo.  We had such a good time.  I got a picture of the girls in the barnyard in a broken "chicken egg".  And Shanna took one of MiMi with them as we were leaving.  I love those girls!!!

Gracen and Avery

MiMi and G and A

My sisters, Mary and Judy

 While the young Riggsbees were in Chapel Hill, my sisters came to visit.  It has been a long time since we were together for any length of time, but we had a wonderful time!  It was rainy, cool, and dreary while they were here so we entertained ourselves by watching Game of Thrones.  None of us have been keeping up with the HBO series, but I got hooked on it and have succeeded in getting them hooked, too.  We can hardly wait for season three!




I like to go to this farmer's market in Dillard, GA.  For months I have been passing this field with a chicken house with three umbrellas in front of it.  I asked Jim if he thought that was a chicken resort.  He rolled his eyes at me.  What do you think?

Chicken Resort?

And then, I find out little things I never knew all the time.  This year I have grown cherry tomatoes for the first time ever.  I have two plants and I discovered that they grow their tomatoes differently.  One of them grows tomatoes in a cluster at the end of a stem and the other grows its tomatoes along a stem.  Amazing!

Tomatoes Growing in a Cluster

Tomatoes Growing Along a Stem

A finally (I'll bet you're glad), I leave you with a Porch Portrait.  This was made at dusk after an afternoon of thunderstorms.  Love to all!

Fog at Dusk

Gardening Woes; Avey Turns 4; Locks of Love

Part of my Garden

You know, guys, I've grown gardens for years, but I'm finding out that growing a garden in the mountains is a whole different animal than growing one in the Piedmont.  This is our third garden.  The first one just grew, no major issues or obstacles.  That experience fooled me.  Last year was the worst garden I've ever had.  I think some of it was our fault...we planted too early, the soil wasn't right, and the growing season just wasn't conducive to a good garden.  Nobody around here had a good one, but I think ours was bad in spades!  This year it looked like the stars would align to get some good stuff (and it still might).  We amended the soil, didn't plant too early, and have taken great good care of the fledgling plants.  However, the weather and other nature have conspired to make things hard.  The tomatoes got blight (a result of wet weather) that affected all 22 plants, and I had to nurse them along.  They look okay now, but the weather is still wet and cool.  That, my friends, results in blossom drop.  I have beautiful plants that bloom prolifically, but then the blooms fall off before they set the fruit.  There's only one thing to do about that...wait for the weather to right itself.  I did notice two grape tomatoes forming on that plant today, so maybe the worst is over.  And then there is the wildlife.  I decided (erroneously it turns out) to plant seeds rather than starting the cuke and squash plants.  Well, did you know that chipmunks and squirrels like the seeds?  They teamed up to devoid my garden of EVERY seed.  So, having no other recourse, I started seeds.  Even after I planted the little plants, they dug around them to find the seed.  Geez!!!  I think I finally have some plants that have lost their appeal to those little critters.  But the big deal was the bear who took it upon himself to tromp through the garden.  Luckily, he did little damage, but I'm sure that was just luck.  In addition to taking on the garden, he tore a bird feeder down and devoured the seed, got into the garbage building and distributed garbage all over the yard, rearranged the contents of the fire pit, and dragged  garbage cans full of grass and bird seed down the hill.  And he didn't even tear open the bags and eat them!  Right now the garden looks good (except for the okra and cantalope...people tell me they don't grow well here).  In Charlotte, all I did was plant and pick.  Gardening up here is a lot more work!

Bear Tracks

Our youngest granddaughter, Avery, turned four a couple weeks ago.  I don't see her very often and when I talk to her she sounds so grown up.  They will be here at the end of the month for a bit of time.  I can hardly wait!

Avery turns 4!!!

Her sister, Gracie, had really long and pretty hair.  She had it cut yesterday to give it to Locks of Love...a thoughtful, caring gift to a child who has lost her hair.  I know that was Shanna's idea, but it warms my heart to know that she is passing on the willingness to give from the heart to the girls.

Gracie's Locks of Love

Nothing else new up here.  The sun is out today and though there is a 50% chance of thunderstorms, it has been nice to stand in the warmth and brightness.  Hope it helps my garden.  Love to all of you.

Another pretty sight from the ridge.

Rhododendron

A Visit to Foxfire; Karen and Joe; the Bridge Girls; and Gracie Turns 6!!

Savannah House, Jackson County NC

One Saturday a couple of weeks ago, JR and I decided to go down the mountain and do a little rat-killing.  We had some errands to run, so we headed down to Clayton, GA.  It's not very far and offers a little more in the way of commerce than Sylva or Franklin do.  (Jim loves the Home Depot there.  He says it has more employees than customers...and I believe it.  We counted 33 employees and only 15 customers.  Makes you wonder how they stay in business.)  Anyway, we finished our messing around and were headed back home.  On a previous visit we had noticed a sign showing the location of the Foxfire Museum.  When we passed it this time, we decided to detour up the mountain and visit it.  Those of you who are of a certain (not to be named) age will remember the advent of the Foxfire books, but I'll bet you don't know any of the history of them.  The books were (and are still) an anthology of magazine articles.  The magazine was (and is) created by high school students in Rabun County, GA.  In 1966 they had a new teacher who was woefully unprepared for the classroom, and who in a last ditch effort to salvage some degree of professional dignity, conducted a pow-wow with his students, the upshot of which was the decision to author a magazine.  The students then proceeded to interview the grandparent generation (my grandparents' generation).  They found that these mountain people were not "hillbillies", but were, instead, smart, hard-working, resourceful people who were steeped in the lore of the mountains and who lived their faith and values everyday.  The result was magazine articles that were put in anthologies, some about life in general, and some about specific topics (building a log cabin, medical remedies, cooking, etc.)  After operating on a shoestring budget for a number of years, and after the publication of the first of the Foxfire books, the Foxfire group amassed some money with which they purchased 110 acres of land. (The treasurer of this little group was 14 years old, and it was he who signed the check and the closing documents.)  Subsequent groups of Foxfire students have bought old mountain structures, dismantled them, and rebuilt them on the Foxfire land.  There are 22 structures, most of which are original.  Those that are not were built using the old methods (before gasoline and electric tools, etc).  A trip to the outdoor museum is an immersion in a time long forgotten or never known.  It is well worth the couple of hours it takes to navigate the exhibits, and the gatehouse has a collection of all the Foxfire books as well as other publications that have sprung from this examination of mountain history.  By the way, do you know what Foxfire is?  It is a fungus that grows on dead wood.  In the spring and summer when it is propagating, it gives off a greenish glow which is visible at night in very dark surroundings and is common in mountain forests.

Karen and Joe came for a weekend.  Karen is the high school friend that I lost for 45 years (see last post).  I called her one Thursday night and asked if she was a spur-of-the-moment person.  She said she could be, so I invited her and Joe to come for the weekend.  We had a WONDERFUL time!  Karen and I picked up right where we left off 45 years ago.  It's just like we're talked every day of that time.  The best kind of friend...yes, she is!

Karen and Joe on the Ridge

 The bridge girls came for our semi-annual weekend bridge game.  There are usually 4 or 5 of us (it's hard to get 8 people together).  This time there were 4 of us and we had our usual good time.  I like the weekend because it gives time to talk and to get to know people better than just a few hours at the bridge table.  I still missed all of you who didn't come!

Grace, Lynn, Gayle and Susan

Gracie turned 6 this week (May 9)!  I can hardly believe it.   On that date 6 years ago, Jim and I sped off from Charlotte to Chapel Hill in a quest to be the first to see her (except for her parents).  We beat Ghi-Ghi by only a small amount of time (we were closer)! And Gracie was just beautiful.  She had managed to inhale come amniotic fluid and had to spend several days in the hospital, but she has been a doll baby ever since.  We love her very much...even though she is a little snaggle-toothed right now!

Grace at her 6th Birthday Party

 I planted my garden this week.  Things went smoothly except for the fact that Chester kept digging up one of my tomato plants.  While planting, I discovered that he had buried a bone in one of my raised beds.  I removed it, threw it down the hill and forgot about it...until I came back up the hill from planting some other items.  One plant was dug up.  I fussed at him and replanted it.  The next morning when I went out to look, that same plant was dug up again.  Still fussing, I went down the hill and found the damn bone!  No more digging!

And just one more thing...those of you who know me well know that politically I am pretty conservative.  It will come as no surprise to those that I think that Obama is the worst president in living memory, and his administration's policies are taking this country down a road that I don't want to travel.  He disgusts me in many ways, and I rarely agree with him on any subject.  Having said that, I do agree with him regarding marriage between homosexual men and women.  NC recently conducted a vote that added an amendment to the NC Constitution that recognizes marriage between a man and a woman as the only valid marriage contract in the state.  In addition, it also outlawed civil unions between same gender couples.    I voted against the amendment,  unlike many conservative voters.  I made that choice because I just couldn't see how enabling people who want to be in a committed relationship could hurt me or anyone else.  I don't know if marriage is a "right", perhaps it is only a tradition, but I am unable to find logic in its prevention for an arbitrary segment of the population.  I confess to being conflicted for a long time before I cast my vote.  I attended presentations from both sides, and this is what I came away with...I was totally astounded at how each side demonized the opposition!  I respect the rights of religious conservatives to have their opinion.  Being for the amendment because of their religious conscience does not make them bigoted or hateful members of society.  I likewise respect the opinion of those who are against the amendment.  Being for the extension of marriage to a currently exempt portion of the population does not make them miscreants.  Each position has reasonable thought on its side, and each side bolstered its position with lies about the consequences of a vote contrary to theirs.  I am tired of the incivility of political discourse in this country.  I am tired of the demonization of the opposition, and the distractions that we are forced to endure as citizens in this representative republic.  We are facing unsustainable debt and deficit and we are being treated to arguments about high school bullying, old girlfriends, and dogs.  Puh...leeze!!!  We have more sense than this.  We can take it, whatever IT is, and we can make our decisions and deal with any eventuality as adults.  We are being treated like we are in kindergarten, so thoughtless and immature that we cannot be entrusted with the truth.  Both parties (and all the add-ons) are to blame.  When are we going to demand a change in this behavior?  I am well-read and well-informed and I am forming my opinions right now.  I will work tirelessly to defeat Barack Obama and his minions because I believe that they are wrong, but I will think no less of you if your opinions differ. Let's not demonize each other because of the difference.We're too good for that.

Love to all!

MiMi and Ghi-Ghi Do Biltmore

Biltmore's Tulips

Recently, I bought a 12 month ticket to Biltmore House and Gardens in Asheville.  Ghi-Ghi, (Shanna's mother, Judi) and I decided to spend a little time there when a new exhibit opened.  It is called "The Vanderbilts at Home and Abroad" and is wonderful.  There are many items that the Vanderbilts used in their daily lives, as well as some of the items collected in their broad travels.  In addition, the flowers were absolutely beautiful!  The winter has been very warm (though we are going to have some freezing weather this week) and we hit the blooms just after their peak.  Judi wasted no time in posting her pictures on Facebook, much to my chagrin as I really don't much like being photographed.  So, I'm putting in some of her!  We had a wonderful time.  I really think I'm lucky being friends with both my daughters-in-law's mothers.  (That's a pretty awkward sentence construction.)  Check out the pictures! We didn't actually ride the Segways, but they made good pics!

 Oh, you should know that MiMi and Ghi-Ghi are the names that our shared grandchildren call us.  I'm MiMi and Judi is Ghi-Ghi.

Ghi-Ghi on a Segway

Does Ghi-Ghi like Transportation?

MiMi and Ghi-Ghi Tiptoe Through the Tulips!

JR and I have been working in the yard getting ready for the planting season.  We haven't planted anything yet except the cool weather stuff like cabbage, etc.  But we sure do want to!

I got locked on the property today.  I am trying to think of a name bad enough to call Jim, but none comes to mind.  Any suggestions will be appreciated.  We have a gate that must be locked with a padlock (until the guy finishes the automatic gate).  Anyway, the padlock has been very difficult to open of late, and I've been complaining to JR that I couldn't always get it open.  He thought I was being a wuss.  This morning I went down the drive on my way to the recycling center, post office, and grocery story.  The padlock wouldn't open no matter how hard I tried to turn that key.  Of course, JR is out of town.  We have a one lane drive, so there was nothing to do except back up the driveway until I could get to a turn-around spot...not an easy task since my little short self has a hard time seeing over the back.  I mostly did okay except for the time I got a little bit too far to the left and scraped my BRAND NEW CAR on some sticks that were protruding into the drive.  When I got back I called our buddy, Curt, who came to unlock it for me, though he had great difficulty, also.  He sprayed it with WD40, relocked it, and couldn't get it open again.  Luckily, he had left the chain off the gate and was just experimenting!  New lock coming up!  At any rate, I'm a free woman now and not relegated to the confines of Rapunzel's tower!

Hope all of you had a wonderful Easter and that the rest of your spring will be a time of peace and renewal!

Oh, the picture below of the sunrise is one of my "Porch Portraits"...pictures I take off my back porches!

Sunrise on the Ridge

The Best Kind of Friend; Sister Date; and The Greening of the Mountains

Karen and Joe

When I was in high school my best friend was Karen.  We did not go to the same school, but attended the same church and were totally inseparable.  She married Joe (a boy in my class and school) when we were about 20.  I was in her wedding and wore the prettiest green dress...the best bridesmaid's dress I ever wore!  Joe was in school at NC State and after their marriage they moved to Raleigh.  I saw her several times after that, the last time being when she was pregnant with her first child.  I'm not sure about the time line, but Joe joined the Air Force, and they moved to somewhere far from home.  Her parents left Greensboro for the beach, and with them my connection to Karen.  I did not see or hear from her for about 44 years.  I have never seen her children, nor she mine.  On Christmas Eve, with only JR and I at home, I began to think about her (as I have done many times in the past 44 years) and decided to Google her.  I found her in Greensboro!  After I found where she lived, I used Whitepages.com to find her phone number.  I just couldn't wait!  Even if it  was Christmas Eve I was not going to be deterred.  I called her and we both talked as if we had only talked the day before.  Since that was a family time, I called her the next week and we chatted and giggled just like we used to.  We made arrangements to meet for lunch when I was in Greensboro, but I had to cancel when my sister was hospitalized in Charlotte.  Last week we finally met!  Oh, how wonderful!  We picked up right where we left off, talking non-stop, laughing, giggling, sharing our families, remembering our deceased parents, and all the myriad topics that are the stuff of never-ending friendship.  Karen is the best kind of friend...the kind that never leaves your heart.  Welcome back to my life, Karen!  I won't ever let you leave again!

Worst BBQ Place in NC

Zach of the Red Hair

My sister has twins who are almost 18 years old.  They are juniors in high school and are, of course, beginning to think about their plans following graduation.  With that in mind, Ana, decided to go to open house at UNC-Asheville.  ( I don't think it hurts that her boyfriend is a student there.)  Since we don't live too far from there, we journeyed east to spend a little time with Mary and the "kids".  We ate an early supper at the worst barbeque place in the state, but the company was good and we had fun.  After we left the restaurant, the kids went somewhere and Jim, Mary, and I just drove around Asheville in the pouring rain trying to see the sights.  We did drive past the Grove Park Inn, but that was the extent of the sightseeing.  JR went to a bridle and tack store to get a horse shoe to hang over his garage door (for luck, I guess) and Mary got a new pair of red boots.  You know how it is when you get older...your feet get bigger, and she had outgrown her old ones.  Now she has a pair of shiny new red cowboy boots.  Ana says she is going to "marry" Asheville.  I think the family "hill" blood may run in her veins.  Above and below are some pictures taken last week.

 

The Love Birds:  Ana and Justin

I told you in my last post that it has been an extraordinarily warm winter with very little snow or brutally cold weather.  I have been thinking since October that we would have a big snowfall accompanied by really cold temperatures.  So far, that hasn't materialized.  In fact, I believe that spring is here.  We usually have our last snow around mid-March, though the cold weather sticks around for a lot longer.  But we haven't had any temperature (even at night) below freezing in weeks.  The canes on blackberries and raspberries are leafed out, the blueberries are budding, the wild cherry trees have stuck out their little green noses; in the lower elevations trees are in full early leaf, and the flowering trees and shrubs are dressed in their full regalia.  We usually don't get here until late April or early May.  I am itching to get my hands in the dirt, but I've been burned before, so I'll try to hold off until Mother's Day!  I will plant my cool weather crops this weekend...cabbage, spinach, broccoli, onions.  Ummm...can't wait for that first tomato!

Mountain Daffodils in Early Bloom

I am going to Biltmore House in Asheville with Shanna's mother on Friday.  We are going to see the new exhibit "The Vanderbilts at Home and Abroad", and will probably be able to take in some of the spring flora, also.  Enjoy your weekend and if I don't post again before, have a Happy Easter!

The Texans Visit; Snow Update

My cousin, Chuck, and his wife, Jaxine, came to visit God's Country.  Chuck was born either in Charlotte or Jacksonville, FL (I think).  He is the son of my mother's younger brother, David and the oldest of three boys.  At some point the family moved to Baltimore where (I think) Mike was born. The family moved to Texas when Chuck was about 11, and Bill was born in Dallas.  Thus, Chuck is really a Texan after all, he wears cowboy boots), having resided there for most of his life.  He lives in Corpus Christi and works for an oil refinery there.  Bill lives in Arlington and works for the federal government.  Mike died at an early age.

We used to see them yearly while my grandparents were still living as the family vacation always included a visit east.  After my grandparents died, we saw less of them as we all got older and more involved in our own lives.  In addition, David died the same year that Grandma did, so the urgency to visit was less pronounced.  Mama and Daddy traveled west on several occasions, but I never went.

Charlie, Jaxine, Mama, Chuck

Chuck and Jaxine came to help us celebrate our first Thanksgiving in our new house in November of 2009.  We had such a good time, and have looked forward to a return visit since then.  They came for a long weekend, and my brother, Charlie, brought my mother up so we had a mini-reunion.  I laughed so hard at Charlie and Chuck telling stories of their exploits around the Texas countryside.  Charlie allowed as to how "I spent a month there one week" in the retelling of a trip to Bandera (where Chuck's family had a weekend place).

So far, they have been here in the winter.  Next visit has to be in warmer weather.  At least we had no snow!!

Biggest snow this year

And speaking of snow...this has been a very, very mild winter...warm and mostly snow-free.  We've had 6 or 7 "dustings", and one snow that was maybe an inch and a half.  After all the yelping I've done for the last two winters, you'd think I'd appreciate it (and I do), but I do confess to missing a good snow.  Well, my motto is to be grateful in all things, and as I write, it is beautiful day with bright sunshine, and a temperature headed towards 60 degrees.  I'm going to sit out in the sun later and try to help my recovery from some obnoxious illness.




Love to all!