Signs of Spring

Yesterday I spotted this crocus blooming next to our driveway. It was a warm (60-ish) sunny day and while on my walk I noticed a shrub - appeared to be a wild rose (?) with the leaf buds already opening. Oh, and the frogs are noisier than ever.

Last night we went to dinner for our thirteenth anniversary. Erin had given us a very generous gift card to the Grove Park Inn for Christmas so we saved it for our anniversary. We had dinner in the Terrace Restaurant with a view of the mountains. We arrived in time for one of the most beautiful sunsets we had ever seen. It seemed to go on forever. I don't know how she did it, but I think Erin arranged for that, too. Thanks Kiddo!

Chim-Chiminee

Sunday we went back out to the house to see what had been done since our last visit. The upstairs/roof is framed and we have a chimney sticking out of it. It isn't connected to anything but it's there. The balcony out the back is a lot bigger than I imagined. I want to put a chaise out there - there is room for Robert, too.
We walked over to Doug & Vince's lot and they were there planting trees & shrubs that they brought with them. They're here for the week to plant. They started showing us around their lot and we were following a path that leads into an old logging road and we ended up going on a hike. We followed the road around the base of the mountain and it runs down around the bottom of our lot. We ended up having to climb up a very steep embankment to get up to another logging road to get back. Otherwise, we would have to turn around and go back the way we came. Since the hike was spontaneous, Robert and I didn't have our hiking shoes on and our feet were slipping quite a bit on the leaves. With a few pushes & pulls we made it up the hill (mountain) to the logging road. I saw something sparkling on the ground that looked like pieces of glass and Vince said it was mica. I kept 2 silver-dollar size pieces as souveniers. Robert and I had been wanting to take that hike on the logging road and wanted to do it before poison ivy season so we were so happy we did it. It gives a new dimension to the property and hiking it with someone who knew where the road went was a lot better than going on our own. (The last time the guys went on that hike they saw bears.) After the hike we gave them a tour of our house and then Robert & I sat up in the attic in the sun and ate our tuna sandwiches before we went home.

They're Baaaack!

Friday it was warm & sunny. It was 62 when we were downtown. It didn't get very cold overnight and Saturday morning when I got up I saw something moving in the pond. Sure enough, when I went out to get the paper the frogs were croaking away. This time, I was able to get close enough to take pictures. They were gone by the afternoon.
We met up with our future neighbors, Doug & Vince, at the Grove Park Inn for the annual Arts & Crafts Conference and Antique Show. This was the first time we have been. It was fun. A huge ballroom full of Arts & Crafts objects. Unfortunately, we weren't in the market to make any purchases since we still don't know what will fit in our house when we move - not because you could spend thousands of dollars on one little piece of pottery. We did buy a beautiful English tile that we'll have framed. I'm sure we can find wall space for that. Oh, and we had drinks in the lobby after the show.

Another Sign of Spring

I had another "Spring Sighting" yesterday. I saw daffodils in bloom while on my walk. Daffodils in February. Not bad.

Movin' On Up

Sunday afternoon, Miss Bobbie came for a visit. We went to the house in the fog and drizzle. The trusses had been delivered Friday! That is Bobbie standing next to Robert - not a safety boy. Later that evening at the rental house Robert was roasting a chicken on the spit in the pouring rain and we heard this noise outside that sounded like ducks quacking. It was frogs! A sign of spring! There were dozens of frogs in the pond and they were loud. It was like something out of a movie. We could hear them inside the house. We went outside a few times and were shining the flashlight on them. All we could see were their beady little eyes glowing in the dark and they would stop croaking for awhile. The next morning they were still at it. I heard them as soon as I opened the bedroom door. Now we could see them. They were big, black frogs. As the day went on, I noticed they were moving outside the pond on to the rocks and it seemed like they were getting quieter and there were fewer in the pond. By 5:00 they were all gone, just as fast as they appeared. Not a peep outta them. I guess they ran away from home.
Today we went back to the house to see what had been done with the trusses. We now have an upstairs. The center portion (where Robert is standing in the picture of the front of the house) of the upstairs will be finished off. The two end areas, to the left and right where the trusses are now, will be unfinished storage.

Buy American

Even the dogs drive foreign cars in Asheville!

Construction Update

We went to the house yesterday. It was in the high 50s and sunny and was just beautiful there. We said if we were living there now we'd be having a glass of wine on the porch. The carport/picnic shelter is almost completed. The stucco work is finished and there is even a door on the storage shed in the back. The floor for the front porch is framed in - it's going to be bigger than I thought - plus the side decking and bridge to the carport are almost framed. The trusses are supposed to be delivered today so now they'll be able to finish the framing and put the roof on the mother.

Men!

This is why I don't get the comfy chair even when Robert's out of town.

More Pearson's Falls

The hike into Pearson's Falls was relatively easy. It was only about 1/4 mile and the walk was beautiful. The path followed the creek and there was a lot of moss-covered stone and we had to cross a beautiful moss-covered stone bridge to get to the falls. It was a warm sunny day - high 50s - but the sun didn't reach down into the gorge where the falls are. We could see the sun just above the falls. The whole area was under a high wind warning but there were no winds down there either. When we got back to Asheville the winds had picked up even more and in some areas were up to 60 mph. The winds knocked down power lines which sparked forest fires. There were some big fires still burning Monday but finally the winds died down a bit so they could get the fires under control. I guess a few houses were lost but fortunately, no injuries or deaths. We're supposed to get rain today and tonight so that should help put out the rest of the fires.

Pearson's Falls

Sunday we took a drive down to Saluda to Pearson's Falls. Saluda is a quaint little town south of Asheville almost to the South Carolina border. I read about these falls in a book I bought about wildflower hikes. Of course, no wildflowers are blooming now but the hike to the falls was beautiful anyway. I will have to go back in April when the wildflowers are in peak.

TGIF

Friday morning I went to a garden lecture at the NC Arboretum (or Arborarium in Robertspeak.) The lecture was on "Livable Landscapes" and was given by Rick Darke. He is a known author, photographer, and all-around plant person. I recently bought one of his books on woodland gardens. When we got out of the lecture at about noon it was so warm & sunny that I walked around the Arboretum for awhile before I went home.
Later that afternoon Robert & I went out to visit our house. At first glance it didn't look like much had been done the last few days. Then we noticed the stairway landing to the storage shed had been framed in and footings had been poured for the front porch and side deck and bridge to the carport. When we went inside the fireplace had been framed in. We're figuring the trusses are on order for the roof so they are getting all these other things done in the meantime.

Ice Storm

It turns out there was a big ice storm here while we were in Michigan. It didn't hit at our rental house in Asheville - only rain. We drove to our new house Tuesday and noticed all the way down Highway 9 the small trees had been snapped off near the tops. We could tell a lot of trees had been cut down along the roadside, too. It was the same at Creston so we took a drive up to the sales office at the community center and asked Corey, the salesman, about it. He said the ice storm only hit certain areas and Highway 9 (which is our route to Black Mountain) was quite treacherous. He drove to Creston later in the day after the storm and trees & wires were still down and the road still icy. It wasn't AS bad at Creston but there will still a lot of trees topped. We only had one casualty on our property and it turned out to be a lucky break for us. It's a tree that we normally couldn't cut down for no reason and it blocks a pastoral view in the summer. I'll have to replace it with something smaller.

House Update

They made a lot of progress on our house while we were away. The carport is framed in. It's so cute! The steps up to the attic are in and we can walk up there and stand on the floor. I wouldn't go up because there are no walls up yet but Robert did and took a picture of the view from up there. There is going to be one room in the attic with a set of French doors walking out to a small balcony. I will have my computer and drafting table up there. There will also be a bed if anyone wants to sleep up there. Other than the cats.

Asheville Cats

This is what Asheville Cats do all day when it's 73 degrees in February.

Where's the Beef?

We had a nice night at John & Lou's. Skeeter let us sleep with him in his room. Skeeter is Bizarro Charlie. He's a big, pure white cat. He is very lovable.

Saturday we headed for Big Rapids to spend the Superbowl Holiday with Sue & Roger. First, we had to stop at the Scottish bakery for the traditional meat pies for the guys for the Superbowl. Robert also snuck in some pork rolls. Nancy was already at their house when we got there but Don had to work so wasn't able to join us or eat the extra pork rolls. Nancy and I made an interesting discovery. The Roger/M&M look-alikes. It's hard to tell from this picture but if you drew a big M on Roger's forehead you'd see the resemblance. Sue & Roger prepared a surf & turf dinner for us and their friend, Denise, joined us. We had a few laughs, a few pants were peed in and us girls stayed up until 4 AM catching up. Good thing we did because Nancy got a call and had to leave first thing Sunday morning for a family emergency. Sunday, Sue and I layed around all day in anticipation of the Superbowl. Or maybe it was because of the mimosas. Who cares. The guys went out and HAD to get a roast to cook on the spit because, "It's tradition." Yeah, like we didn't have enough food already. Sue had bought enough food for an army. We ate & drank wine all through the game and I actually paid attention - to the last 2 minutes. I think that was the first time I sat through a Superbowl game. Somehow I don't feel my life has changed any. Robert & I had to get out of there early Monday morning to catch a 1:39 flight from Metro. Fortunately, we didn't run into any wintery weather and made it in plenty of time to turn in the rental car, eat lunch and get our flight.

Still in Deetroit

Thursday after we left Dan & Susan's we went to Jim & Monica's for dinner. Carol & Al were there, too. I thought Al might take a swing at Robert for almost killing his wife but he didn't so I guess he's OK with it. We had a delicious dinner that Monica prepared after working all day. But mostly, it was good to see them.

Friday morning Robert had appointments again so I went to meet my old Curves buddies for breakfast in Berkley. Naturally, it was snowing (oh, how I miss Michigan winters - NOT!) so it took me forever to get there. I had a good time with Lynette, Marianne and Patti. It seems they have left Curves and now go to Contours where they get a better work-out. Why didn't we figure that out while I was still there? I had a dentist appointment that afternoon then had to kill time waiting for Robert to get back from Windsor to meet me at Enterprise to drop off my rental car so I drove around Birmingham counting For Sale signs. From there we went to Holiday Market once again to pick up a few things for Superbowl - mainly, olives for Sue. Brian, the Wine Guy, gave us a tour of the new renovation. Quite impressive, I must say. We went from there to John & Lou's in Livonia and relaxed after our stressful day of driving in snow with a glass of wine. We met up for dinner at Sandy's with the crowd we were supposed to see at the Superbowl party that someone cancelled because he got a ticket to the game. We had a good time catching up with Patti (Superbowl-Goer Widow), Jan & Stimmel, Scott & Margaret and their daughter, Shannon. Oh, and John & Lou came, too.

Jeff (Superbowl-Goer) even called from his layover in Denver and bought us a round. Well, that's the LEAST he could do. I think we ended up putting all of our drinks on his tab. He'll see when the Visa bill comes in. Sorry I didn't get any pictures of everybody. Sometimes I get carried away seeing everyone and forget to take them. I guess I'll never be a professional blogger.

Trip to Deetroit

Well, we made it back from Detroit.
We arrived there safely on Wednesday night (Jan 30.) We cleverly booked a room at the Courtyard next door to Mon Jin Lau, a.k.a. The Lounge, where we headed for dinner as soon as we threw our bags in our room. Well, after a quick stop at Holiday Market for a Family Size.
Thursday morning Robert had appointments so we went our separate ways. Well, I finally did after waiting an hour and a half in the lobby for Enterprise ("We'll pick you up!") to deliver my rental car. They were down the street from us and they got lost! Whatever! I got a free day and an upgrade out of it. I had a brand-new PT Cruiser for 2 days for $35.00. Not bad. When I finally got my car I went to visit Pam in Royal Oak. First I stopped at - Holiday Market - to pick up a few things for her. She still isn't able to drive after having foot surgery in November. I know what that's all about. After Pam's I went to Dan & Susan's just in time to walk with Susan to pick Tommy up from school. He has the same first grade teacher that Erin had so I wanted to say hello to her.





Here are some shots of the boys acting normal. Tommy showing off either the new TV or his tonsils, Tommy and Jimmy rehearsing some new dance steps, Tommy and Jimmy greeting Patrick after school and Dan holding the boys down for a kiss from Auntie Bonnie.
HI TOMMY! Smoochie smoochie.