It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like - MICHIGAN!

This is what we woke up to this morning! The wind was howling all night. The snow isn't that deep but the wind is so wild and the snow is blowing and drifting. We didn't go anywhere. I made a pot of soup yesterday so we can live off that for a few days if we have to. It's supposed to be in the 50s and sunny by the weekend.

Last Sunset

Erin went home on Sunday. She wasn't scheduled to leave until Tuesday but she missed her little PeeWee and wanted to get home with a few days to spare in case any flights were delayed or cancelled. I took her to the airport then Robert and I went to another potluck at Creston. This time there were actually people there. After taking Erin to the airport I wasn't really feeling up to socializing but I had already made the potato salad so I guess I was committed. We hit fog -actually, I think we were in a cloud - on Crooked Creek Road, which is the road leading to Creston from Highway 9. We couldn't see a thing. It was so foggy we almost missed the entrance to Creston. We crept up the mountain following the side of the road. Robert told me to close my eyes but I couldn't because I wanted to see when we were plunging over the side of a cliff. He told me he was used to driving in the fog from driving in England and I said, "But that was 80 years ago!" It didn't make me feel any better. We finally made it to the top to the community center. What a relief! We had a good time - there was a lot of good food - and I was making sure Robert only had one glass of wine in case we had to find our way through the fog going home. When we left the fog had cleared and the sky was clear and full of stars. It was beautiful.
New Year's Eve we stayed home and ate. We had smoked salmon, grilled lobster tails and steak. Of course, we had a very nice bottle of Champagne and watched the ball drop in Times Square (poor Dick Clark!) and talked on the phone to all the friends who are mad at us for not having our usual New Year's Eve gathering. What can we say? It was different. This was the first time it was just the two of us. At least Robert didn't make me listen to Al Jolson.
Oh - first we watched the last sunset of 2007 from our deck. These are the pix.

Final Grade

Saturday we went out to the house because the builder said the grading was finished. The "moats" around the house and carport are filled in and I was able to go onto the carport for the first time. I wasn't going to walk the plank that was there before. They put gravel down, too, so now we have what resembles a parking lot in front of the house.

Making the Grade

The night after Christmas Bobbie & Michael came up for a visit. They showered us with gifts and we made them eat leftovers. The next day we took them to Creston to check on the house progress. We couldn't really see anything because the driveway and area around the house were being graded so we stayed out of the way. We had lunch at our favorite lunchspot in Black Mountain - the Veranda Cafe. We didn't make them eat leftovers for dinner. I had a freezer full of homemade pastys that we all woofed down.

I'm Dreaming of a White Kwanza

Well, we didn't have a white Christmas.
Amy & Cheri came over for dinner and we had our traditional roast beast and Amy only ended up on the floor 3 times.
The next morning we woke up to snow! It wasn't a lot and it melted soon but it was pretty.

Christmas Eve Will Find Me...

Unfortunately, Nick had to go home Christmas Eve. On the way to the airport we had lunch at a sushi place downtown (Asheville) and walked around a bit. Everyone who had nothing better to do on Christmas Eve (including us) was hanging around. There was a buffet luncheon set up in Pritchard Park where the homeless hang out. Then we came across a touching little Christmas scene. We walked past a young (30-ish) couple and the guy was sitting on a bench sobbing. When we passed by again, he was yelling at the woman and calling her a "Christmas Whore." It was like a scene from a Dickens classic.

Looking Glass Falls

Looking Glass Falls are located just off the roadway so they are usually a very popular waterfall to visit because no hiking is involved.

From the falls we went down the road to Sliding Rock where (in the summer) you slide down the falls on your butt. We went there in August with Rob & Susan. I was glad to see there was a lot more water flow than there was in the summer.