Saturday, December 22, 2018

Merry Cristmas...!

Santa came early to our house this year...
The Malechild received his Master's Degree in Special Education on December 15th from Appalachian State University!
His concentration studies were Reading, Behavior and Autism.

Now the job search begins...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year..!!

Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Me and the Flock

 
The Park Flock and I are wishing all of you a blessing filled, safe travel holiday.

I once heard someone says that turkeys are dumb birds.....WHAT!!!
These bird know where to be at this time of the year.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Newest Critter

this Otto the Otter..
He's made out of a very heavy log and stands about five foot tall.
He was done by a local artist using a chain saw.
We've seen chain saw pieces - usually eagles, bears or wolves.
Otto was the first otter we've seen in the area.
Soooo...
of course CityBoy had to spend his birthday money and bring him home.

Tuesday, October 16, 2018

The View is Back!

This is what the front yard looked like yesterday...
Then the Dillard Brothers showed up with the big boy toys..
Good Bye all you old trees with fungus growing on ya..!!
Now we can see all the way to the Blue Ridge Parkway...
 

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Leaf Watch

It’s that time of year again. 
Time for the leaves to change color and drift downward.
Time for the Fall Festivals! 
Apple cider, baked goods, chili made in a black kettle over an open fire and crafts….crafts….crafts.
The mountains are calling you to pick up your pumpkins, gather some colorful fall foliage from the many roadside vendors, take long leisurely hikes and enjoy the solitude of the changing season.

Come Join Us!

This is the post I put on the park website this morning....
it's time for my favorite season.
I love all those little fall festivals - seems like every church has one.
There's always tables load with home made baked goods...one church even has gluten-free baked goods!! 

And since my birthday is in late September...I always have birthday money in my pocket for the crafts...!

PS....the picture is from 2016 - it's the road from the office leading up to the summit of the mountain.

Friday, September 21, 2018

And Life Goes On.....

It's been awhile and life has not been dull...
We weathered Hurricane Florence well, just some flooding of the creeks and rivers up here in the high country.  The parental units had some minor damage around the door ways to the outside, nothing that a little caulk can't fix and we just had wet dogs.  Playing in the rain was a new and wonderful experience.

This summer my SNL was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's.  She was doing fairly well until early August when she was injured in a car accident.  She pulled out in front of a car and was T-boned on the drivers side.  Broke her arm, concussion, small brain bleed, broken ribs and a very large and deep cut on her left leg.  Well as a result of the brain injury her Alzheimer's has advanced.  She has good days and bad days.  But, she is still aware enough to refuse a daily care facility.
Her care is taking a toll on all of us.....please send prayers.

On the bright side....!!

The male child will complete his Master's Degree in December!
The female child - my gypsy girl- is on the move again.  She and her family are touring Germany!

CityBoy and I are hanging in there......
He has cut his work week down to three days.
I'm still with the State Park, walking the Big Yellow Dog ( who is now up to 70 lbs.), and carving out some time for quilting.

PS..... the leaves are staring to turn....!!!


Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Still here...!

This is what's been taking up most of my spare time.
A new queen size for our son.....he'll be getting his Master's Degree in December and all he wanted was a new quilt.  I sent it off to the quilting lady yesterday.  Now he can retire the one I made him for HS graduation.
Weather permitting Mikey and I still go on our "sniff" walks and so far we've worn-out one pair of cross trainer!
Poor little babies.....they look tired don't they?
Plus
Mikey is up to 65 pounds.....making Big Sister Meg....Little Sister Meg
They're a crazy pair..!





Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Another "Use'ta" Moment

 Today as I was heading into work and I had another use'ta moment.
It's been 12 years since we moved to the Twelve Acre Wood in the high country of North Carolina and there have been many, many changes. 
This use'ta moment hit me when the radio announced that the temp was 59* and I realized that I was wearing jeggings, a tunic style t-shirt and sandals.
 
Yes.....SANDALS!!
 
In my old life back in Florida 59* was COLD!!
  I'd be in dress pants and a blouse (tucked in), probably wearing socks with a heavy shoes and of course a sweater, maybe even a coat.  
The kids would be getting off the buses and out of cars looking like Dough Boy children, complete with mittens and hats, so heavily suited up they could hardly move.
 
Today in Florida it'll be somewhere in the 90's.....
I'll take my 59* and sandals.

Wednesday, April 11, 2018

Max has laundry..??!!

Yes ....he does..!
Over the last year Max, who is some where around 11 or 12 years old has developed a love of doggie shirts....
It all started when the groomer suggested we buy him a tight shirt instead of a Thunder shirt.
We were going to try the Thunder shirt because he is terrified of storms..
I happened to have a "Harley Davidson" shirt that i bought for another dog.
Sooooo...we tried it...
Not only did the Harley shirt work but Max fell in love with shirts.....
Now he has these two, plus
his camo VIP shirt (Very Important Puppy) and his Harley Shirt...
Stylish....next year he may make it to the runway during Fashion Week...





Monday, April 9, 2018

15 minutes later....

When I took the dogs out at 6:40 this morning, Mother Nature was giving us a light cold drizzle...
We came inside and as I was climbing the stairs I noticed it had started to snow and that light drizzle had turned into ice...which was covering the trees, grass, driveway and road....yikes!!
A lot can happen in just a few minutes...!!

It's still snowing......what happened to Spring??

Monday, March 26, 2018

The 12 Acre Woods...

Finally.....Thanks to the MaleChild and his drone, I've got a picture of the 12 Acre Wood.
We own from road to road - from behind the parental units house to the tip.
the parental units, brother and SNL live in the red roof house and we are in the green roof cabin.

Still a little snow on the ground.....we got six inches on Saturday and then on Sunday the sun came out and the melt down began.


Saturday, March 24, 2018

What do you do?

When Mother Nature gives you four more inches ...
You make "clean out the refrig" soup and banana walnut read...
All I need is a cup of tea....


Tuesday, March 13, 2018

11 months and counting

Yep!
Mikey is almost a year old, 65 pounds and still growing.
And maybe it's time for his own bed.

Monday, March 12, 2018

Hummmmm

This is what I woke up to this morning....
Good thing I can do some work at home...answered emails, completed a report and sent it on to the Powers That Be..
We'll see what tomorrow brings...

Friday, March 9, 2018

Calling All Birdies.....

Look a summer rental...!!
Needs a little work and the furniture needs to be rearranged.
But
the price is right.....available now.

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

High Country Living....

Found this on Facebook and thought how appropriate  this little saying is for where we live.
One Sunday we sat on the front porch all afternoon and counted 10 cars passing by.
and
This morning when I took the dogs out at 6:45am the sun was coming up over the ridge and the birds were singing their little hearts out.
But
When I left for work at 7:25am it was snowing like crazy and the ground was covered in the white stuff.
Now
At 10:00am the sun is out and the snow is melting fast.
Living in the High country is never dull.

Saturday, February 24, 2018

Looking for Advise....

Anybody out there know a way to get a 10 month old puppy weighing 65 lbs to stop chewing up everything?


Friday, February 23, 2018

TV Makes It Look So Easy...

But...when you work for the park service everyone shows up for tree cutting day..
then you have the planning committee...
once the tree is selected the stabilizing rope is attached
you have a ranger with a chain saw....
a maintenance man that works the come-along...
another maintenance man directing traffic and guarding the driveway...

and at least 3 or 4 support personnel on the sidelines shouting instructions and advise!
They're also there to cheer and clap when the first one comes down!!
Team Work..!!












Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Sharing....

This is Mike and Meg....
We have worked very hard on teaching them about sharing, mainly because of the size difference. 
After all he is 45 pounds heavier than she is....
BUT
There was no need to share the gastrointestinal bug with each other....
My house now looks like a pharmacy and smells like a kennel.....!!
After $450, one trip to the ER Vet and one trip to the CuteVet, they are on the mend.
Now....say a little prayer that they don't share with Max.

Saturday, January 27, 2018

New Toy....

the MaleChild used his Christmas money to buy a new toy...
A Drone!
He's been buzzing the Twelve Acre Wood getting in some practice.
Here's a view of about half of the property....
Hummmmm
That's a loonngg driveway! 


Monday, January 15, 2018

Strange Happenings

 The Culprit

Sunday night as I was getting ready for bed the house began to vibrate….now we’ve had small earth quakes in the surrounding area but this was different. It was a vibration with a beat..! A very unusual sound and feel for my neck of the woods…after all we live on the side of a mountain in a county that has less than 27,000 people…

It was sort ‘a like an inner city hip-hop car with a heavy base….

I quickly asked City Boy if he could hear or feel it and of course being almost deaf and half asleep he said..”What sound?”

Well I began to search the house – fearing that it was the HVAC system failing on a night that was already 11* and falling fast. Nope, the system was hard at work and making the normal sounds. By this time City Boy had joined me in the search and we headed back upstairs. We searched each room and found nothing but the vibration.

Finally…..the wall between the sewing room and the great room seemed to be vibrating the most….but….Why?

As we walked away shrugging our shoulders…City Boy yelled…”Wait! What’s this.” Then he picked up the control for his automatic reclining chair and turned off the massage option.

Hallelujah! It stopped…!!

Seems as he was getting up to get a bedtime snack he hit the wrong button…

Hummmmm…..