HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Morning Walk

These are some pictures I took on my morning walk. First I go up the hill. Then I go down. Then I come back up again. The fall color is beautiful right now. We had our first frost Sunday night then again Monday. Today wasn't as cold in the morning but I've been walking a bit later than usual because of the cold. It's been going up into the 60's during the day and sunny. You can see part of our rental house and cars in the driveway in the last picture.

Weekend at Billy's 2

We finally made it to Louisville. When we arrived Bill and Kent had delicious snacks and soup waiting for us. Oh, and a little wine. Bill had baked the usual hummingbird cake for the sisters' birthdays. We had to get up early and be out of the house by 10:30 the next day so Kent made sure we behaved and he had us all tucked into bed by 11:15. We got up Saturday and ate breakfast and were actually ahead of schedule. They had made reservations for a guided walking tour of Old Louisville. The tour guide was very knowledgable and had even written books about Old Louisville and a cookbook. We didn't buy any. Anyway, we went for a 2 hour tour. The historic area of Louisville is huge and in 2 hours we only saw a small portion of it. We learned that Louisville is #3 in the country (behind Boston and D.C.) for the largest area of historic preservation. The tour was very interesting and included quite a few ghost stories. We were able to go inside the house in the last picture. It is owned by a couple who are former actors from New York. Their decor was very "interesting." After the tour we went to lunch then went into a few shops and headed back to Bill & Kent's. Bill made us a delicious paella for dinner. Since Bobbie doesn't like seafood he made her a separate portion using hotdogs cut into the shape of little shrimps. He's so clever and always aims to please. We left by 11:00 AM Sunday and took the direct route home. We didn't fool around this time because people had to be to work Monday INCLUDING ROBERT. He just started a new job selling machinery for a company based in Charlotte. OH- I must ad a disclaimer to my previous blog entry. That pumpkin butt is NOT my sister in Hot Springs. It's across the road from our house. I don't know how that got in there.

Weekend at Billy's

We went to Louisville for the weekend to visit Bill & Kent. This is the annual weekend where we meet Bobbie there to celebrate our birthdays only this time we took her with us. We couldn't arrive before 6PM and had all day so we took the scenic route. Instead of taking Highway 40 to Knoxville to I-75 we took side roads north of Asheville and went through Hot Springs. There actually are mineral springs there and it was a popular spot for the rich and famous to heal back in the day. Well, I think Hot Springs has seen its day. It was a one-street town. BUT the main street is part of the Appalachian Trail so now we can say we walked it. We had lunch at a quaint dive called the Paddler's Pub. It was warm and sunny so we sat outside. Luckily, we didn't see the inside before we ate the food because when I went in to use the restroom the interior was pretty bad and I've seen some seedy places in my life. I would describe it as "ready-to-be-condemned." I couldn't bring myself to look in to the kitchen when I passed it. But the locals and the bikers seemed to like it. Everyone in town seemed to know each other and after watching the traffic go by while we ate we agreed that if you live there you have to drive a pickup truck with a dog in the back and have a beard (male or female.) After lunch we did a little shopping in the local trading post while Robert took his siesta and then headed on. We stopped and took in the view at a scenic turnout in Tennessee before getting on to I-75.

After Devil's Courthouse II

After hiking up to Devil's Courthouse we decided to break away from the crowds on the Parkway and exited onto a back road to go home. It was a beautiful ride with little traffic. The road followed a crick (that's a creek to northerners) and we drove past a few waterfalls and stopped alongside the road to eat our lunch. After lunch we drove down a dead-end back road that ran along the base of Cold Mountain.

More Devil's Courthouse II

Well, now we know why it's called the Devil's Courthouse. Here's the Devil Himself.

Devil's Courthouse II Continued

These are some of the views from the top. You can see 4 states from here - North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. Can you pick them out? The one picture shows the parking lot where we started out from.

Devil's Courthouse II

Sunday we packed a lunch and drove down the (Blueridge) Parkway to check out the fall color. There was a lot of slow-moving traffic on the road and the color was more and more beautiful the higher we got. We stopped alongside the road to take a few pictures then went to Devil's Courthouse. We went there during the summer but didn't hike to the top (because one of us had to pee.) This time we were armed with empty bladders and walking sticks and made it to the top. It was a short but uphill hike.

Construction Update Oct. 20

Saturday morning we went into Black Mountain for the tailgate market. The tailgate markets are held at various times and locations where the local farmers bring their crops in to sell. We bought some green beans, squash, honey, eggs and Robert bought some laaaamb. Since we were already in Black Mountain we decided to take a ride up to our property to see if the concrete had been poured. It hadn't because of the rain. There was insulation on the floor of the house covered with plastic and plastic covering the front foundation walls of the house. The carport block was finished. Every day the fall color is better. There is a bright red Sourwood tree alongside our driveway.

Friday Night Out

Friday Robert kept bugging and bugging me so finally, I said, "OK! We'll go to the craft show!" It was the 30th Annual Southern Highlands Guild Craft Show (or something like that) at the Asheville Civic Center. We actually found it without any trouble. We're getting pretty good at doing that. Anyway, we walked through it in record time and bought a tile trivet from the Asheville Tile Co. We saw a few other things that we might have bought if we had a house but since that was the 3oth craft show there's a pretty good bet there will be a 31st so decided some things could wait a year. Before we even got out Robert asked if I wanted to go to the wine bar at the Grove Arcade. Somehow I knew that was behind his going to the craft show without crying so like the agreeable, obedient wife I am, I said yes. As luck would have it the Grove Arcade was practically around the corner and we passed by one of my old haunts on the way. We also passed the St. Lawrence Basilica which is across from the Civic Center.

Construction Update Oct. 17

The house foundation now has plumbing for the drainage in the flooring. The carport is growing. There was a guy spraying "Termite Protection Stuff" (pesticides) on the foundation and gravel floor. I guess that's the law down here. If all goes well the concrete will be poured on Friday (this was Wednesday) and then the guy will move on to another job for about 3 weeks then will come back to start framing in. Then it will start looking like a house. In the meantime, the builder will be working on the septic.

More Sunsets

The sun has moved so now we just get the afterglow.

Construction Oct. 8 continued

Here are more pics from Oct. 8. For some reason Google wouldn't let me put them on the other day.