Windows

We went to the house yesterday and more windows were in. They made a lot of progress in spite of the rain all day Wednesday and a lot of wind Thursday. The house is almost enclosed - just a little open above the mudroom but that will close up when they finish the roof decking on the gable over the front porch. These are pictures of the living and dining room; Gary, the maintenance guy for Creston who was hired by our builder to haul away construction debris; and the back of the house. That's me in my hide-away on the upstairs porch.

Cashville Cats

Wednesday I took the boys to the vet for routine shots and teeth cleaning. After examining Charlie, the Dr. strongly suggested (expensive) blood work on him first to see if he should undergo the anesthesia. He has lost more weight since we moved and now is down almost 2 lbs. He said at his age (almost 13) that could be a sign of a hyper thyroid condition. I called later as he suggested to check on the blood results and Harvey was able to have his teeth cleaned but Charlie wasn't because he has a hyper thyroid condition! So now we have to give him pet meds (medication) twice a day and have his blood re-checked in a week. He doesn't seem to mind because the only way to get a pill in him is to crush it and put it in his puppy food (canned cat food.) So now they get puppy food in the morning and at dinner time. Good thing he's Robert's boy because the whole ordeal cost as much as an appliance. I guess we can live without a refrigerator for awhile as long as our little Charlie is healthy.

Maid in the Mist

Friday we decided to venture out to find Bridal Veil Falls in the Dupont State Forest. (Bridal Veil Falls are the falls they walk behind in Robert's favorite movie "Last of the Mohicans.") We got a late start because Robert had an appointment to see his accountant first. By the time we got to the Dupont Forest and found the parking area for the trail to the falls it was about 5:00 and raining. We looked at the map that was posted and it showed the hike to the trail and back to be a 4-mile loop. The guidebook said it was, "A short walk." Well, given the time and the weather and the fact that Robert has a bum hip we aborted the mission and went to Looking Glass Falls instead. You can see the falls from the road and if you are really lazy you don't even have to get out of the car. We braved the rain and walked down to the bottom.
Saturday we took Sue for one last trip to see the house before she had to leave (Sunday.) All of the windows in our bedroom and bath were in. It started to rain (again) so we left and drove down to Lake Lure and had lunch at Larkins on the Lake. While we were eating it started to pour. We went home and took naps before going out to dinner. We went to Rezaz - yes, that is the same restaurant we went to with Bill & Kent where Robert dumped the table over when we got up to leave and glasses of water went everywhere and I said I would never go back there. First we went to the Grove Park Inn for a sunset drink. The rain stopped as we were driving there and the sky cleared up and put on quite a show for us. We sat out on the terrace in rocking chairs watching the sky turn colors over Asheville. It was hard to get up and leave for dinner but we did. We had a very good dinner and no one even gave us dirty looks as we walked in so maybe they didn't recognize us. It probably helped that we put the reservation under Smith.

First Window

Wednesday we were still kinda pooped from Charleston so we stuck close to home. We had lunch in downtown Asheville and went to Tops for Shoes - a shoe-lover's paradise. Then we walked through the Botanical Gardens. Things are getting ready to pop there so I have to go back again soon. That night we had to pick Robert up from the airport at 11:30. At about 10:00 we set the stove timer so we wouldn't fall asleep.
Thursday our windows were being delivered to the house so we made a trip out there later in the day. Our first window was in! They had installed that front window in our bedroom closet and one of our bedroom windows in the back. How exciting! After we calmed down we took Sue to see Alison Falls, the waterfall in our development. She found a club to protect us from the bears.

Nothing Could Be Finer

Well, after the storms blew out, Sarasota Sue blew in to town. She arrived a week ago Friday, sick as a dog. We had to lie low for a few days while I nursed her back to health. By Monday she was ready to go to Charleston. It's only about a 4-hour drive from here. What a difference in the weather! It was spring there. The dogwood and azaleas were blooming. Sue felt better just being in the warmer weather and the sunshine. We walked all around Charleston then walked to a French restaurant Sue had eaten at before and had a delicious meal and, of course, a bottle of French wine. Tuesday after we checked out of our hotel we walked around again, shopped a bit then had lunch before heading home. Where was Robert you ask? Don't feel sorry for him. He was in Spain for a week on business.

More Storm Clouds

Stormy Weather

Tuesday it poured all day which we really needed because western North Carolina is still in a drought. It was dark and gloomy and around 6:00 I was getting dinner ready when I looked out the window and it looked like someone was coming up the driveway with their brights on except it was still daylight. It was the sun! The sun had come out so I looked out the front door and there was this beautiful rainbow. It didn't last very long and it clouded over and the sun started to set and the sky was spectacular. Different areas had tornado watches, flood warnings and severe storm warnings. Robert had driven to Raleigh for the day and was driving back right into it. He and all the truckers had to pull off the road in Marion (about 1 hour away) to let it pass.

Construction Update

Monday was such a beautiful day that we had to go back to the house to see what had been done. The front porch is starting to take shape. Robert tested it out. It's comfortable enough for naps. The exterior color boards are posted. From left to right - foundation & some trim, body, window & window trim and the stucco sample of the foundation. The roof shingle sample is above the color samples. There was more framing upstairs and the beam across the balcony. Now I feel more comfortable standing there.

Disclaimer

I have to file a disclaimer on my last post. That was not bear scat (poop) in the road. It was the remnants of a deer massacre. Robert, who is always the first to get any neighborhood gossip, found out someone shot a deer in Catawba Falls, our neighboring community, and it ran over to our development where it must have finally fallen and then was devoured by coyotes or wolves or savage Indians. I don't know whose poop it was.

They Don't Always Do It In the Woods

Sunday, I went for a walk when we first arrived at our house before Robert started his chainsawing. I walked down to the gazebo which is a mile round trip. We had seen 5 deer along the road coming in so I brought my camera with me in case I saw them again. No deer but I did find a lot of bear scat* in the road. I can tell you one thing, it really stinks.

*Not an Ella Fitzgerald-style of singing. It means poop.

Chainsaw Massacre

Sunday we spent the afternoon out at our house cutting down small trees that were damaged from the ice storm or already dead. It was the most beautiful day! We were wearing short-sleeve shirts! On March 2nd! There were even butterfies fluttering about. Robert bought himself a chainsaw. He had to promise me he wouldn't cut down any dogwood or cherry trees or sever any arteries (at least until after the house is finished.) I was in charge of cutting up the smaller branches and hauling them into the woods like a common brush monkey. We had our usual tuna sandwich picnic lunch. The architect stopped by for awhile. We got a lot of work done and by 5:00 were ready to call it quits. We were pooped. Robert had all his fingers & toes still intact, so it was a good day.

Soakin' Up the Sun

Hello, Hooray!

It was a typical Friday night at the Hendrys. We were out at our house then stopped at our favorite store, Fresh Market, to pick up something for dinner. We decided to grill some grouper. As we were sitting down for dinner Robert decided to put some music on. He was playing around with the CD player (we have a CD changer that holds hundreds of CDs and like everything else electronic we have is very confusing.) Finally, one started playing and he said, "That's the one I've been looking for." He thought he found the CD of old-time mountain music I gave him for Christmas. I immediately recognized it as Alice Cooper and didn't think the old-time mountain musicians played "Eighteen." When I pointed that out to him he just shrugged and left it on anyway. So, we had our nice grouper dinner and bottle of red wine listening to classics like "Under My Wheels," "Be My Lover," "School's Out," "Elected" etc. Now, for me, it wasn't so bad because I'm an old Alice Cooper fan from way back. That was the first big concert I went to when I was 16. Doug Updike and I drove all the way to Ann Arbor in his mother's woody to see him. We were cool. But not as cool as everyone else. Most of the audience was dressed up like Alice Cooper with the black eyes, glittery eye make-up and snake skin boots. When I told my mother I was going to see Alice Cooper she probably thought I was going to see a female folk singer. Alice Cooper was also known for his theatrics and every concert had a theme. I think we saw the Billion Dollar Babies show. I remember he did his usual trick - was beheaded in a giant guillotine. Cool. It was December so for an encore they beat up Santa Clause. It doesn't get any better than that. Now I know how Robert feels when he listens to Al Jolson. He probably has similar memories of his concerts.

So Much for Spring

Wednesday we woke up to snow. Robert had to catch a 9 AM flight so he left by 7:00 to allow for the weather. The snow didn't last long. This next picture was taken that afternoon.
The next morning I woke up to snow again. It was trash day so I went out about 8:00 to take the garbage cans out and noticed footprints in the snow. I followed them and they made a wide circle all around the house. The bear is back!