fhe onthemountain2

My first blog video (I hope)

2010-05-30T12:22:00.004-04:00

Wayne was giving Cadie a bath in the tub.
Vivi did not like being left out of the scene. Check it out.

2010-04-17T13:57:00.003-04:00

Today is a beautiful day. All of our pets including the 3 foster pets we are taking care of for our son and his family until they get moved east this summer, have been out in the sunshine and seem to be enjoying our climate. We have begun our garden for this year including some of the flower planting as well as veggies.

Just thought I would post a blog so no one would think I had dropped off the face of the earth. :) We just celebrated our 5oth wedding anniversary a few weeks back, thanks to our four children who pulled off one heck of a party for us! Check out the book they wrote for us and had published. You can find it on Amazon.com. The name of it is "The April Fools" as we got married on April Fools day 50 years ago. It is a real hoot! We love it.

NC Eury Decade Review

2010-01-09T03:55:00.004-05:00

Well, it seemed like such a good idea for a blog so I am copying my son and because I haven't written anything since October guess it's about time to do something to change that, so here goes and I hope to keep it relatively brief:

2000: 3rd granddaughter, Pilgrimage, job change, condo living, 9th grandson

I left from Chicago on February 2nd in an effort to get to the birth of daughter Mary's third child but Carmel Rose Johnson would not wait on me to arrive at the birth center. :) I got there shortly thereafter on the 3rd and did manage to give her, her first bath (family tradition for this grandmom to have the privilege of doing).

Pilgrimage was absolutely awesome and I was thrilled that I had been able to go for the third time. This time Wayne and I went with our son, Tag and his wife Cris, daughter Sofia (who was only 4) and one child in the hangar, so to speak, was Alex who had a few more months before coming into our physical world. The upper Terraces were open and part of the lower ones and I was physically able to walk some of them to the Shrine of the Bab.

I changed from being a public health supervisor at the City of Evanston Health Department to an epidemiology program administrator for the state of Illinois (HIV-AIDS surveillance). The new job proved to be very rewarding but a great challenge none the less. My office was located in the Loop of downtown Chicago. I rode the "L" to work and back daily, M-F.

We made the trip to Florida to welcome our 9th grandson, Alexander Sage Eury who was born at home in a tub of water. Though he was 2 weeks old before we were able to go, I was told that he had not had a full "grandmom" bath so I got busy and "cleaned" him up. :)

2001: 9-11

Will never forget this day. I was at work in downtown Chicago only three blocks from the Sears Tower when the twin towers were toppled. We had a TV on the floor of our work site and we all watched as the second tower was it and fell. The entire Loop was evacuated and I rode home on the most crowded train I had ever experienced.

2002-3 Trips, anniversary flowers/fruit, NSA apology, Land Rover

This year Wayne sent me beautiful flowers to my office for our anniversary. I sent him a big basket of fruit to his office. Fun thing to do. In June we traded our Eldorado for our first 4x4 (in a long time) in preparation for moving to the mountains of NC in 2005.

On May 23rd Wayne received a much needed apology from the Secretary -General of the NSA for having been erroneously accused of a misdeed almost 6 years earlier. We felt blessed to finally have closure.

Trips to Florida and NC to see family were the most important events I remember. We also made a trip to Oregon to see brother Bill and wife Marziah. Then we flew on over to Idaho and visited Wayne's brother Doug who was still recovering from cancer surgery and chemo.

2004: Property purchase, 4th granddaughter, trip to Arizona

On January 2nd we purchased 2.5 acres of mountain land where we hoped to build a cave home after retirement. Wonderful view.

On June 7th our fourth granddaughter, Isabella Rain Eury, was born at home in Florida. Yes, she was also born in a tub of water and, yes, we made the trip and I got to give her that traditional bath.

Moved to the Loop in November to an apartment right on the train line. This was so that we could fix up the condo and get it sold, hopefully before we move next October. We lived on the 15th floor and thoroughly enjoyed really getting to see and know Chicago downtown.

2005: Retirement, move to Asheville, purchase of additional land, Buddy died

We lucked up and were able to purchase an additional 2.47 acres of adjoining land that enabled us to move our house site to a better view. Gave up on the cave home due to not being able to get bank financing.

In October we retired and moved to River Ridge Apartments in Asheville hoping to start our new home soon thereafter. We were reunited with our most lovable Golden Retriever, Buddy who we had gotten when he was only 6 weeks old back in 1994. He had been with us some in Evanston then stayed with our daughter Lynn and her family in Asheville when we moved into the condo in 1999. Now nearly 12 years old, buddy developed cancer and we had to have him put down in November just before his birthday. He was buried on our property.

2006: Last nursing job, Critical illness, birth of 1st great grandchild, foundation laid, trip to Arizona,

I got my first job as a nursing instructor at AB-Tech Community College over the summer and my last job as a nurse. I was all lined up to work more hours in Fall semester but was hospitalized with pulmonary emboli (blood clots in the lungs) late August. Critically ill at the start and three months later was well on the way to recovery with many physical changes needing to be made due to being so deconditioned.

While I was in the hospital Lola Arrowood, our first great grandchild was born on September 28(?) to our oldest grandson, Andy and his wife Jessica. What a thrill to be a great grandmom. Also while I was in the hospital, the foundation of our new home was laid and the basement walls were raised.

In December Wayne and I drove to Arizona to visit Tag and family. I was not allowed to fly because of not being able to move around enough on the plane. We drove in our Prius and stopped frequently for me to get out of the car and walk around for 10 minutes or so. It was great to see the family. We adopted Tag's adopted dog Cade (because the dog was too rough with Alex). They were going to give him back to the shelter where they got him so we just brought him home with us. Surprise, surprise! We fell so in love with him. He filled some of the void left by the loss of Buddy.

2007: lost pet, new puppy, new home, another trip to AZ

In March, Cade met his demise when he tried to attack a truck on our road at the new home site. We were devastated. In May we drove to SC and bought an adorable Old English Sheepdog puppy. She was just 3 months old and we named her Cadie after our dog Cade. She helped to fill the void left by the loss of Cade.

On August 31st we moved into our new home though there was still much work to be done to finish it. We were so excited to be in it and away from apartment living. Cadie loved her new playground.

In December we drove our Tundra (had traded the Land Rove for a 4x4 truck previously) hauling a motorcycle for Tag all the way to Phoenix. Stopped by Doug and Lynn's on the way.

2008: Sub teachers, Trip to AZ, Disaster struck, 2 great grandchildren born, Abandoned beagle, Diabetes Diagnosed

In January, Wayne and I both became official substitute teachers for the Haywood county school system. I did not get called much but Wayne did get in quite a few hours. Great for our finances.

In April I flew alone to Phoenix and spent 2 weeks with the Eurys. Helped babysit the children while Cris had some training classes. Had a great time. Then on the day before I was to fly home, I fell on the stairs and broke two bones of my ankle. Had surgery on the fractures after getting back to Asheville. So much for sub teaching.

On July 18, Staton Arrowood was born and now Lola has a brother.

In September, Madison Arrowood was born to our grandson, Josh and his wife Felicia. Now we have 3 great grandchildren. They are all so precious.

In December we found a little abandoned beagle on our road in 20 degree weather. She was sick, full of mites and worms so we took her in and adopted her. We named her Windee but later renamed her Peewee for her inability to house train well. She is an older dog and is very dear to us.

Wayne and I both were diagnosed with type II diabetes this year. What a jolt. Learning to live with it.

2009: Cataract surgery, Tax preparer? Yes!

In July and August I had cataract surgeries so now I have 20/20 vision but just need glasses to read.

Then one day our tax preparer called me and told me she would like for me to consider taking the training to become a tax professional as she had noted that I had our taxes practically done by the time we brought our paperwork in for her to do our taxes. I took her up on this and am now employed by H & R Block and ready for the new tax season to start.

2010: Ready for a new year of wonderful happenings!!

October Snow and Latest Family Members

2009-10-19T16:37:00.005-04:00

Please enjoy the first fallen snow we had up here on the mountain and also we would like to introduce you to our latest family members we recently adopted. Note the date on the clock. The high for the 18th was 35.

Isn't she adorable? This is Little Kitty. She loves to sleep on laps but she's on our bed in this picture just chillin'

Next is Big Kitty and she rules the roost, so to speak. We have nicknamed her EC because she is "Extremely Curious" Gets into everything! She is more extrovert than Little Kitty who just takes things in stride (except when Cadie chases her then she can hiss and spit with the best of em).

2009-10-17T10:53:00.003-04:00

I know it has been a long time since I have posted anything but today is a special day on the mountain. Remember last year when we had our first snow in early November? Well, this year we are having a "snow day" here in mid October. The high for today (at midnight) is 38 and currently it is 33 degrees. Very tiny snow flakes with no accumulation is now occurring. Wayne is outside trying to place an extension cord on the little heater that is wrapped around our water pipes to avoid the hard freeze that is to occur tonight. We have planned to get a battery to do this job this year so we don't have a cord dragging across the yard but we don't have the money for the battery until the end of the month and unfortunately, the weather is not going to wait until then to get cold.
Visibility is about 50-100 feet everywhere outside. The leaves this year started out looking beautiful but the wind, rain and cold weather has pretty much wiped them out as I feared it would. I am so not ready for winter. We haven't had enough of a Fall to be ready for winter yet it feels like it is already here. Some say it will warm up again before winter..... hummmmm, we'll see. Hope they are right. Hope our young bamboo shoots we planted a month or so ago survive this weather (donated to us by a neighbor who got some of our cut down locust trees to use for his fence posts) . They are fairly hardy "trees" so we are hopeful that they will survive and start putting forth that good ole evergreen for us by next year.

Great Barrel and Garden Stuff

2009-08-15T17:53:00.005-04:00

After two years of working with or compost barrel, AKA the Scrap Eater, we finally got some things to grow and make it look pretty. On the left of the pic you see a volunteer tomato plant that actually has tomatoes on it! Beside it is a volunteer pepper plant that has just bloomed and until a pepper actually grows, we won't know what kind of pepper it is. The pretty flowers are the Candulas that Cris gave us many seeds for and they are growing all over our yard in at least 5 different places. There is also an asparagus fern that I added for some evergreen effect. It is a bit hard to see. Enjoy.
Yes, that is a hummingbird feeder. The hummingbirds seem to have left for the summer.

The pic below shows a single day's haul of vegies. We are so proud of our garden this year. We are hoping to have a much bigger one next year! Now don't misunderstand, we don't get that big a haul every day but every two to three days we do ... :)

Strangest Thing

2009-08-12T09:13:00.004-04:00

I discovered this by accident one morning as I was laying on my bed, awake and pondering. This picture was only able to be captured on a later day at just the right time of day when the sun was shining on it. The window actually looks clean as a whistle as soon as the sun moves to shade. I would assume the ghastly looking stuff that shows along with the bird wings is pollen and probably accounts for why the wings left their mark. This is actually not a window but is the sliding door in our bedroom. The bird evidently flew away after the "smack" as do most that we happen to see when it occurs. I feel so bad for them.

It's Only Been Two Years

2009-06-28T17:26:00.003-04:00

A couple of years ago, my daughter, Mary, asked me to take some special fabric she had and make her a scrub top. I agreed but since we were just before moving into our new home, and all that goes with that, I knew that if I didn't get it finished before the move, it would be lost from me for quite a while. Recently, I got a sewing bug when I was asked to split five table cloths in half for the Baha'i Center and stitch up the raw side to create ten table cloths. I came across the scrub top fabric and guiltily decided it was past tiem to get it done! Well, now I remember what my delay was in finishing the top in 2007. I couldn't figure out how to do the V neck. Now some might say what's the big deal but I had never sewed one before and the directions were very vague and unclear so I struggled then laid it aside until after the move. Today, was the time to deal with it. Wayne found a nice web site but its directions were no better than the ones I had. So after messing with it long enough, I finally got it done! Then I took a pic for all to see... especially Mary.

Nature's Wonders

2009-06-06T15:55:00.008-04:00

Look what landed on my front porch yesterday

My blueberry bushes on the day of planting in April. I am amazed at how much they have developed in such a short time. See below.
Both bushes are just full of berries. We have a lot of stuff growing but nothing else that is very impressive yet...

In the Garden

2009-05-31T23:28:00.002-04:00

I know, it has been forever since I have blogged. Been busy and could not think of anything interesting enough to keep from boring everybody. Here you see our garden efforts both flower and vegetable. The bird bath is surrounded by perennials that we hope will eventually fill up the surrounding rock circle. The other picture is of my pansys and some new annuals I just put out.

Well, that's it for now. Gotta lot of things to do so I will do more blogging later. Oh, and the greenery you see around that tree trunk that the bird bath sits on is the tree's attempt to grow new branches. Amazing, huh?

Down on the Farm

2009-04-17T07:37:00.008-04:00

On the way home from Asheville, via the back way out Leicester Highway, last week, (Wayne, Eddie and I) Wayne says, "All right, look for a sign along the way that sells eggs and we will check it out." So I looked on the right and Eddie looked on the left to cover the area most efficiently. We were within a mile of our turn off to head toward our house when Eddie spotted a sign. It said "Organic Eggs and Feed, 2.5 miles as we raced by it. So we had to turn around and go back and then turn right onto South Turkey Creek Road. We crused along slowly until we came to a dirt road with an "egg" sign on the left so we turned. We had to cross a wodden bridge that said "go slowly across this bridge" and here is where we wound up. Boy, were we in for a treat. Chickens running around everywhere.
Baby goats, mommy goats, horses, guinas, and little piggies abounded.

This is Amber sitting next to Wayne. She thinks she is a dog so she snuggles like one. She had had twin kids but they both died (preemies who didn't make it) so she found her a new baby (who had its own mother) and she adopted it and began to nurse it herself. Now that kid really has it made. Two moms who love it dearly and all the milk one can imagine! Amber fell in love with Wayne's shirt and kept trying to nibble on it (goats only have top teeth and as such, have to really work on things to be able to get items into their mouths so Wayne's shirt was unharmed. She also began to lick Wayne's neck and ears (just like Buddy used to do, Cade used to do and Cadie now does). Remember, she thinks she's a dog. :)

Now let me introduce you to some of the Kings of the Hill amongst the chickens: There are 8 of them but I only got shots of a few. The first one is Foghorn-Leghorn and he thinks he is hot stuff(he crows the loudest).

Next is Spot. How proud he is. But not the noise maker of his fellow King.

Now the last one I am going to show is Star. Doesn't he just look like he thinks he is a star?
Each of the roosters are a different "make" of chicken and they pick their harem from those chickens who belong to their "make" (if that makes sense).

Anyway, we had a great time yesterday on our second visit to the Farm, known as the Double G Ranch (for the couple who own it who are Valerie and Lance Graves). This time we had gone to get Sara and Carmel and we took them with us as a special surprise. The horseback riding they got to do was a surprise for us as well.

Then and Now

2009-04-08T18:52:00.006-04:00

This is Cadie last winter(late October). She actually had longer hair than this when we clipped her this week. We just clipped away at her hair until we got it where we wanted it and said forget the groomers! Too much money.

See results below! You'd think you were looking at two different dogs.

What a great before and after...

6" of snow and still falling

2009-04-07T10:24:00.004-04:00

This is unreal, yet awesome. Snowbound in April. That would make a good title of a book, don't you think? We were supposed to have house guests today and tomorrow. The guys were going to go fishing... slightly postponed, to say the least. Cadie is having her usual good time playing in the snow when outside. We actually are in blizzard conditions up on this mountain. By Thursday all of this will be gone, most likely. Temps are supposed to be in the 50's to 60's. Today we are in the low 20's.

One of my "can't sleep" moments

2009-03-12T05:16:00.003-04:00

Here it is, 5:17 AM and I am so wide awake you'd think that it was time to get up. I get tired of just lying there so sometimes I get up, like today, and find something productive to do. Then I may go back to bed and get a few more hours of sleep before rising for the day. I checked all of the blogs to be sure I was up to date. Saw that hilarious email pic from Tag of the winner in the dog obedience class. I am still laughing from it.

It is getting close to Spring and we are going to have to bite the bullet and shave Cadie's hide to get rid of all the mats within her 6 inch long fur. We have been dreading it because we do not have sheep shears and that is probably what would be the best thing to use... It must get done before we go to AZ the last of April, that's all there is to it. Hope to have before and after pics because one may not recognize her when she is clipped that closely. She has really enjoyed Eddie's presence in the house. They play frequently and she adores this. but then every time he comes out of his bedroom suddenly, she jumps up and barks loudly and scares my ears!! (an expression Bonnie used to say when a loud noise sounded off in her ears as a young toddler).

We visited my cousin, Anna, last weekend in Huntersville (now truly a suburb of Charlotte). Had a great time. We went to Charlotte's brand new Ikea! Yeaaa! And we also went to one of three Trader Joe's! Isn't that the greatest? Anna says she is impressed with Trader Joe's and plans to go again. Mmmmm, no surprise, huh? They drove us all over Charlotte and I nearly flipped! I don't even recognize this city any more. Except for the same street names I am just flabbergasted at the many changes that have been made. I did shoot some pics but haven't imported them into my iPhoto yet and my camera is not in here in the room with me. Don't want to wake others so, will post the best ones later. They have (a sometimes) elevated electric driven train going thru town for commuters. Can you believe it? We gotta make another trip to this city and look over all of these many changes again. The Carolina Panthers stadium is smack in the middle of town covering the ground that the first company Wayne worked for back in 1961, used to sit on. We were just in culture shock.

Guess that is enough rambling around for now. Need to get back to bed and catch some more zzzzzzzzs.

A Thorn in His Crown and "my flesh"

2009-02-13T09:29:00.005-05:00

Three days ago Wayne was outside cutting away brush from our large crab apple tree in our side yard. In the process he inadvertently backed into a large thorn on the limb of one of the many trees that have thorns on our land. A thorn broke off and lodged in the top of his head. I caled the doc's office before 5 to see if we could get seen as I had not been able to get this hard thorn out with any of my tools at home. The first picture shows you the size of an entire thorn. The second picture shows the actual piece of thorn that the doctor removed from his scalp. It may not seem impressive to some but it was a real booger to remove and we were at the doctor's for quite a while last night. We had not had supper so on the way home we stopped at the first and only cheapo food place (McDonald's, ugh) and grabbed a quick burger and salad. Then we started our 25 mile treck home. We were almost to the last exit of the interstate and with only 7 miles to go realized that I had left my purse at the restaurant. I was mortified. We called (Mary did for us) to alert them and we turned around and started back to the restaurant. They said they did not see anything in their lobby. I began to envision having to replace all of my bankcards, insurance cards, Costco, library, etc.... Not to mention that I had my last $10.00 in my new wallet that was in my leather purse. yada, yada, yada.... So I prayed in tears all the way back. I ran into the restaurant and there my purse was right on the seat where i had left it. I thanked God and we went home. Needless to say, it was after 10 PM by the time we got home.

Pondering in my heart

2009-02-04T08:54:00.002-05:00

How can it be said that one "feels your pain" when this statement is made? Well, if it is your child, I think the bond between parents and their children creates this. Nothing makes me any sadder than when I feel the pain or stress that I know any one or more of my children are suffering. As a parent, I think we must just feel so guilty that we cannot make it go away just like when your children are/were little and get a skinned knee. We did make that pain "better," so to speak by tending to it. That's physical pain and much of the pain we are all having today is psychological pain or stresses.... Much harder to "make it all better." Feelings of helplessness abound from both sides. Love keeps us strong and helps us to carry on. What else can I say? I love them so much, it hurts!

Been too long

2009-01-27T08:57:00.002-05:00

I did have a more recent blog (back when Windee, also known as Peewee) was injured by the coyotes. It almost didn't save for some reason so in my attempts to keep from losing all I had typed and the two pictures I had posted with it, it saved weirdly and no one could find the comment poster so I just deleted it. It was ugly in the format that I saved it with.

This is starting out to be a bit of a "down" day. Two of my children are so down in the dumps (for justifiable reasons) that I feel their pain so I am blue, too. I did get a lift when my child, who no longer blogs, called me yesterday. I also got a lift with my child who is waking up his creativity and starting to really get serious about writing again... I do so love all my children. They are just so dear to me. They all have children and I know they know what it means to feel the pains of being a parent with no control over life's dealings of your children, especially when life gets so sucky (coining that from a daughter) as it is right now for so many more people in the world than just my children.

Hope to find a creative picture to write abut soon, but not today I feel... :(

Twas Three Days Before Christmas

2008-12-23T10:59:00.005-05:00

Twas three days before Christmas when all through the house,
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse,

The doggies were outside enjoying the cold,
While I alone was within, trying not to feel old,

When out on the lawn there arose such a chatter,
Of doggies barking intensely, oh my, what was the matter?

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
Not a miniature sleigh nor eight tiny reindeer,

As I peered out my window, such a sight to behold,
Was a strange looking cre ature standing so bold,

By my deck he was starring not uttering a sound,
Looking toward my back do or, hummm, what had he found?

Where were my doggies? I thought with distress,
They had now stopped barking, oh, I was a mess,

As I opened my doo r my doggies burst through,
They rushed right past me, well, wouldn’t you?

This creature just stood there in his brown and white coat,
With thick horns on his head, why, he was a goat,

I ran for my camera to get a quick shot,
But when I returned, the goat he was not,

So I opened the door in hopes I could see
Where he had run to, where could he be?

Oops, there was the goat right up on my deck
I shuttered then said, oh, what the heck?

So I grabbed two quick pics before he hurried away,

Feeling nothing I could do would get him to stay,

And so I exclaimed as he walked out of sight,
He’s just Richard’s pet goat, so no need for freight.

Great Grandchildren Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-10T10:39:00.002-05:00

The two oldest great grands shown here with their proud grandmom.

Here's Madison. The September baby of Josh and Felicia.

I thought this was Staton the 4 month old son of Andy and Jessica but I am having second thoughts. Comments, anyone?

This is Lola. She's 2 years + 2 months and cute as a button.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-10T10:08:00.003-05:00

Here we are with our three daughters on Thanksgiving Day! We had lots of fun with each other and all of those other family members who came as well. Some could not come. Some were ill, some were working. We missed them very much. You will have seen the great grandchildren as they looked on that day in the next blog. As you can see, I caught Dad napping. No surprise there. :)

Windee Warmth

2008-12-10T09:59:00.001-05:00

I declare. Sometimes we have to just cuddle where ever we can find a friend. Poor baby.

Fourth Snow?

2008-11-21T07:42:00.003-05:00

Well, we woke up to fresh snowfall and the previous one was not yet gone. We may not see our North or East deck floors until Spring. :) It has not snowed this much up here so early in the year since we have owned our property (2004). Global warming? Maybe. Is this a sign of winters to come? Maybe. At any rate, we are purchasing new tires with steel studs as soon as December money hits the bank on November 28. We do not want to feel trapped up here since road clearance on Glade Mountain Dr does not appear to be a top priority for our Board of Directors. Some of us homeowners are looking into that changing....

It is still snowing, I might add. Was supposed to have started around midnight. This must be going to be the biggest one yet. Maybe 4-6 inches. Hummmmmm, glad we have plenty of food in the pantry, frig and freezer. Sure do hope the roads will clear well by Thanksgiving Day as the family are all due here for dinner (and even breakfast for some).

Reflections

2008-11-12T07:33:00.004-05:00

I feel a need to reflect on why on earth God gave me life. Why did God bless me by allowing me the joy of becoming a Baha'i? Why did God bless me with such a wonderful husband? Why did God also so generously bless me with four beautiful and wonderful children? And why am I further blessed to have 17 beautiful and wonderful grandchildren? Gracious, three of them are even "great!"

What else am I supposed to do with my life now that I am in my sunset years? Much earlier in my life after I became a Baha'i, I used to dream of going pioneering to some far away land to shed Baha'u'llah's Fragrances more globally. Alas, that was not to be. Instead, because of the love for our children, the Love of my life and myself chose homefront pioneering so as not to uproot our children from their more comfortable environment here in America. Even then, we had to wait until we had obtained our undergraduate degrees lest we have difficulty finding lucrative work elsewhere in this country. I sometimes wonder how different life for our family might be today had we gone to Australia or New Zealand back in the 70's when we first had desires to go.

Who am I and what does life mean to me? Now there's a good head scratcher. Where do I start? Let's see, I am basically a good person in that I aspire to never be the cause of harm to anyone. That's not to say that I never lose my temper or get bent out of shape about something and act like a b...head, then feel remorse for it later. I am basically a happy person. I laugh a lot, including at myself when I do something of an ignoramus nature. I strive to pray more throughout the day each day for I feel that enables me to deal with life on better terms. It also gives me the "wherewithall" to ask God to please protect my family and friends from harm.

Now that our "nest" is empty, I take that longing desire to see and be with my children, more often than they could bear, by transferring it to our two dogies. I smother them with love and affection and benefit greatly when they love me in return with their tail wagging, their "kisses" and their warmth when they lay sleeping close to me in a chair or by my feet.

I look out across our horizon and take in the beautiful views of God's wonders in these mountains we have been so fortunate to live among for these last years. The tiny, fluttering wings of a hummingbird gives me great joy as does watching them sip from our nectar filled troughs. Even the many butterflies that grace us here at Windy Ridge (what we call our little 5.47 acres) give me a tremendous feeling of awe as they flutter from one flower to another.

In the evening when my Love and I settle in front of the TV, I often reach out and hold his hand or he holds mine, just because we share of ourselves with each other so naturally. It gives us warm fuzzies.

Even though I am uncertain if I deserve it, I say, "Thank you, God, for giving me this life."

First snow

2008-10-28T07:51:00.005-04:00

Last Fall, our first little tidbit of snow occurred in early November. You could barely tell it had snowed. Yesterday, we got about 2 inches on our little mountain. The high yesterday was 47 and the low yesterday occurred after at a chilly 27 degrees. It was 27 degrees at midnight and this morning the low thus far is 21. Now that is cold, especially for Fall. The wind has roared all night, too. Cadie came in from the north deck last night and there was the beginning of the snow on her back.

We have gotten about 2.5 inches so far and it is still snowing.

Hummmmm, I wonder what limerick comes to mind?

The beauty of new fallen snow
Is awesome, don't you know?
So delicate and white
As it falls thru the night,
and it still has a long way to go

And a very happy birthday to our youngest daughter who was born on this day 40 years ago at 2:12 PM in Charlotte, NC.

"Oh, Lord"

2008-10-18T08:39:00.003-04:00

Well, I was sitting here at the computer reading blogs and making comments while Wayne was in the kitchen making breakfast (or so I thought). Suddenly, I hear a "Oh, Lord" from the other room. I hollered out, "What's wrong?" and got no answer. He sounded so ominous that it scared me so I got up and headed for the kitchen saying again, "What's wrong?" No answer. I was in the hall and then said, "Where are you?" He spoke and I realized his voice was coming from our bathroom. He said, "I've done something worse than you did." Meaning, that with his last haircut I accidentally gaped a small place on the back of his head because I did not realize there was no guard on the clippers to keep one from cutting the hair too short. It grew out quickly and was barely noticed (no pun intended) by others. The following pics will give you some idea of his dilemma. He was busy cutting away on his hair (hasn't been to a barbershop in many months due to the expense) and forgetting that he did not have a guard on the clippers, he ran a streak from the middle of his neck all the way to the front. That's when he calmly but ominously spoke those two words a spouse does not like to hear: "Oh, Lord"

So, now you get to see the outcome. That first pic doesn't look toooo bad but look at the other two.

We worked on getting the cut to look as decent as we could and he will probably wear a cap constantly for the next couple of weeks. Interestingly enough, we have house guests coming today. My first cousin, Anna, and her husband, Scott, are spending the weekend and we are going to drive across the mountains and look at the Fall foliage. I haven't see this cousin in 11 years! We have never met her husband of five years. So this is a big day, guys. They will most likely get a big kick out of the whole thing. Good conversation piece, I'd say.

Narrow Squeak? Blessed by God

2008-10-17T19:16:00.003-04:00

Well, here it is. A few weeks back on my way to an appointment in Asheville, on a rainy day, and running late, I slid off the slick gravel road before I even got past our property. The pictures show the damage pretty well. I was quite upset but feel very blessed that I was not hurt.

It should also tell you how frightening it was when I came to a stop, leaning like you can see in the pic.

The last pic shows the car as it is being pulled back onto the road. I was able to get out of the car before they hooked it up and pulled it.
The car is now as good as new and yes, I am again driving, but more carefully.

Weekend Visitors

2008-10-16T15:52:00.004-04:00

My cousin Anna is coming
We must quickly start humming
A very merry tune
We'll be learning soon
Will surely be aided with drumming.

Our desire is to hug
Even maybe cut a rug
And colorful leaves we will see
On many a tree
Giving our heartstrings a wonderful tug.

Autumn and Brothers Three

2008-10-13T17:18:00.005-04:00

Wayne and I went on the Parkway yesterday to look at the Autumn beauty. We do love it here in these mountains. Even though the leaves are not yet peaked they were still awesome. We had a bite of lunch we had taken with us at an overlook site. Wayne shot video and I took stills.

While I was at it, I wrote my latest limerick yesterday in reminder of our recent visit with Wayne's 2 brothers. Enjoy.

A visit from brothers is great
And we just had one of late
Together we did dine
With a dinner so fine
To bid them farewell, we did hate

I know, I know... it's been a while so here goes

2008-10-01T07:41:00.003-04:00

There once was a grandson named Evan
Whose wit I adore, oh my heaven
But the only word I can find
That will now rhyme
Is that his age is much greater than seven

There once was a son we call Tag
Now I really don't like to brag
But his wit is so charmin'
I don't feel no harm in
Sounding perhaps like a drag

More Nature

2008-09-20T17:47:00.002-04:00

Fall is quite a lovely time of year
The memory of things that we hold dear
Oh, like the colorful leaves we see
Gracefully falling from many a tree
Yes, the beauty of this wonder is quite clear

In case you are wondering, this is a pic from Fall of 2007. Leaves are just beginning to turn at our place. :)

Nature

2008-09-16T12:22:00.004-04:00

Outside my door lives a spider
I could almost sit down beside her
Except she lives in a tree
Between twigs, don't you see?
And the leaves on the trees kinda hide her

Two for One Post

2008-09-14T22:49:00.003-04:00

Some Roses are Red, some Roses are pink
If you bother a skunk you will surely stink
The sweet smell of the rose
Nicely tingles your nose
So roses will cancel the stink, I do think.

My family surely means a lot to me
So warm and loving they truly be
It’s great when they all visit us
When they all come, we need a bus
For it would transport them more easily

Sorry I couldn't find any appropriate pics! Next time though

2008-09-14T15:43:00.003-04:00

Oh, Windy Ridge on the mountaintop
Is where you must come and make a stop
At our home, yes, that is where we live
With much hospitality we love to give
And you might get to see our “volunteer” crop

Windee's (Peewee) Time

2008-09-10T07:27:00.002-04:00

Our little beagle named Windee is cunning
Each day to the woods she goes running
Her nose has a feature
To smell out a creature
But we do not go hunting a gunning

Cadie Baby

2008-09-08T22:45:00.003-04:00

My doggie has way too much slobber
If she licks you, you may be a sobber
But if in the dark
She lets out her loud bark
She’d be ready to clobber a robber
@ @
^
\~~~/

Funny Poem to Alex

2008-09-06T03:42:00.004-04:00

My youngest grandson of late
Has just become age eight
Birthday cake you must get
With Ice Cream, you bet!
'Cause Grandmom knows you are great

Most recent pic I've got (from the July visit). Good ole blackberries they were, huh?

Happy birthday, Sweetie!

Let The Limericks Begin

2008-09-04T11:33:00.004-04:00

I have decided to start writing limericks so here is my first shot at it:

My hubby is quite a great guy
I'd really like to share why
But I simply wish
He'd bring me more fish
When he's out there casting a fly

My own creation...at 5AM while trying to sleep.

Windy Ridge Garden

2008-08-31T18:24:00.005-04:00

Our delightful garden, the first for Windy Ridge. We are so pleased at the response we got with squash. Are they beautiful or what? We only got this one crop and the vines seem to be spent. Oh, well. We plan to have them for supper tonight. There's just one thing I need to show you. Don't laugh too hard now...

Surprise!!!!!!!

On the Mountain Today

2008-08-21T17:08:00.006-04:00

The remaining portion of the ramp is what you see in the first pic. There is a little wall outlining the first of it and then he will put in forms to be able to pour the remaining portion. Where you see the red handled spade, there will be a small flower gardenas soon as we get through with the ramp.

The stone steps are not completely finished but are usable as they are. Wayne plans to fill in the cracks with concrete for a more finished look.

How do you like this pic of our mutant strawberry? It is the biggest one to get ripe so far. We enjoy eating 2-3 strawberries each almost daily. They are so sweet. It is great to be able to step outside and pick your own fresh strawberries. No pesticides, just compost of our own to nourish them.

It is nice to see a close up of one of the four pics that came from Biltmore (thanks to Cris and Bonnie for these). I really wanted to show off the frames that Wayne so creatively generated. That is a bear sleeping on a log. These are the pics we hung over our spa in the master bath.

Blueberries, Lawn, Biltmore Pics

2008-08-17T13:54:00.000-04:00

Last week the side yard was transformed into an actual lawn, grass seed, straw, the whole bit. Grass is already germinating. We are excited.
How do you like our lovely "volunteer" tomato plants? They were a direct result of mixing our compost soil into the flower bed by the back door. It is difficult to see the many blooms the plants have. There are small green tomatoes already and they look to be healthy. Can't wait to see how big they get and if they taste good. We also have a really nice tomato plant growing in the barrel on the North deck(also a volunteer). We transplanted several more from the strawberry bed that is right beside the barrel along with some volunteer cucumber plants.

Last Friday we went up on the Parkway to go blueberry picking. We did find blueberries, along with a gazillion other folks... See Wayne picking from behind the mountain laurel bushes? He did manage to pick a "bunch." Not exactly enough for a pie but enough for a few bowls of cereal.

Finally, Wayne created the frames for some lovely pictures we were given and they are now hung in the master bath. Don't they look great? We think so. Next on our agenda is to get the waterproofing done around the tub so we can take relaxing baths in our spa. We even bought some lavender crystals to create a wonderful calming bath. I am so looking forward to this.

Windy Ridge News

2008-07-31T19:28:00.001-04:00

Wayne and I took off for Landrum on Thursday to see the new great grandchild and his big sister. Of course we saw their parents, too. Our oldest grandchild, Andy, now has two little ones that he and his wife Jessica are the proud parents of. Lola was cute as could be and she seems to adore her new brother. It was a great visit. Wayne's a proud great grandpa!

Now that we are going to Costco in Spartanburg for bulk grocery shopping occasionally, we may just stop by and visit the Arrowoods more often. Love watching those babies grow.

Good news and good news, I think...

2008-07-11T17:53:00.000-04:00

I completed my sleep study Wednesday night and the results are that I do not have sleep apnea. The other news is good in a way and not so good in a way. I now have to sleep with oxygen every night. I have a machine by my bed that makes its own oxygen and furnishes me with 2 liters of O2 via nasal cannula all night long as I sleep. It seems that my O2 saturation (that should be near 100%) goes down to 85 and less % when I fall asleep. That is not considered acceptable so now I am on O2 at night. I can live with that (no pun intended) preferable to a CPAP machine for sleep apnea that involves wearing a mask every time one sleeps and is much more cumbersome to deal with than simple O2.
On a much happier note, we are busy preparing for the arrival of family next Thursday. Will be so glad when they arrive. They have not seen our house ince it was finished and lived in. We should be able to get in a few good games of Qwrikle and Blokus while they are here. Wayne and I play Qwirkle over breakfast daily. We really enjoy it.

Secure Are We

2008-07-07T17:33:00.000-04:00

We are now proud owners of a really nice security system. Just had it installed today. It talks to us. Has many neat features. We will show it off when company comes.
Speaking of "sentry duty," any noise outside brings on ferocious barking at the start with mucho tail wiggles upon appearance of the guests. Don't let the loud barking spook you. Such well behaved dogies we have. They sit on command. They will be freshly bathed and kept in check when the Eurys arrive. They love everybody who comes.