Blue Ridge blog

Survivor Immunity Idol

This welcomed me when I came home today. When the girls were young and they colored pictures for me I used to ask them to 'tell me a story about the particular picture.' I didn't want to say, "What in the world is that?" and risk insulting them. Usually, they would oblige me with a long drawn out story. Today, I walked into the house and asked the same familiar question. Tell me a story about the snowman. So, here is the edited version: Long story, long story, long story, it was 9 feet tall and it fell, giggle, giggle, giggle, long story, long story and now it is cubed and a picasso snowman. Mom, How can I get this dye off my hands?   

Frankly, I think it looks like the Immunity Idol.

In a minute or two I will post a small photo album of a quick trip I made from Baird's Creek Rd through Valle Crucis. Just a general look at today's snow.

Ye of little faith

"You need to be a normal mommy instead of a high tech one," my youngest child muttered when I woke her up this morning. Instead of clammering down the stairs like I do every single morning of my life to plead with her to wake up, I decided to give myself a reprieve and call her via the cell phone that she has glued to her hand. I may be on to something here.

We woke up to 8 inches of snow--and no electricity. Its a good thing that we bought that fancy generator installed by our wizard electrician. Please note the sarcasm dripping from my words. Seriously, the generator is loudly working, using precious fuel, but our lights do not turn on. So I brushed my teeth to the gentle blue glow of my cell phone.

"Ye have little faith in my savior--the snow," were the first words uttered by my eldest child this morning. I regarded her with curiosity while my youngest child responded, " Mom, you should give her random drug tests." My eldest daughter was a little peeved that I had told her last night that the little bit of snow that was falling would not amount to much and that she still needed to study because indeed school was going to meet. Ok, so I told her a whopper but now her homework is done--

I ventured into work and will leave shortly to take photos. This snow is a pretty one. I will post more photos later---if we have electricity at home.

Don't Feed Beer to the Fish

So perhaps there is a problem with drunk fish in Japan... so much so that it is necessary to display a sticker on the back of your vehicle suggesting a stop to such actions. I acquired this sticker and a bunch of other fun goodies from Angela at the Dial A-View  blog. She is an American living in Iwakuni Yamaguchi  . When I brought the package home from the Valle Crucis post office, the girls and I gathered round the kitchen table curious to see what was inside. Oldest child went for the fizzy candies. Youngest daughter grabbed the glow-in-the-dark oragami paper and snow flower scented incense. I love the drunk fish sticker and the ylang-ylang face masks. I will tackle  putting together the make-it-yourself set of drawers later this evening. Angela and I are participating in the Great International Secret Blog Exchange dreamed up by Vivi  . I haven't sent my package yet to my Lancashire, but will do that tomorrow. I have to say that receiving a package from someone anywhere in the world is fun. I'll definitely participate again.

This has been a busy weekend. The day job turned into a night and weekend job and I am tired. The girls have been busy with dance and Lacrosse and we all need this Sunday to kick back, study, do laundry and play 'keep away' from the horrible stomach bug that is plaguing our area.

We are suppose to get some nasty weather this week. I really hope to be able to take more blog photos, post more and read more blogs this week. But, the day job pays the bills....

**UPDATE**

Drew in Tokyo was kind enough to interpret the fish sticker. He says:

"People who are dropdead drunk (plastered) will not be admitted into the store."

I suppose if you're in the wrong part of town, you may want to hang one of these in your store window, but I doubt the folks who most need to read it will notice it when it's relevant!

Thanks Drew!

A lesson learned

This is another shot from yesterday's farm photo foray. I like cows and had fun trying to see how close I could get to this cow with my wide-angle lens before it would stop drinking. I got much closer than this and may share the shot with you later...

Yesterday was an up and down day. Eldest daughter climbed into the car after orchestra rehearsal   with tears in her eyes. "Somebody stole my purse," she cried. She had tucked it inside her cello case and some dirty rotten bastard seized the opportunity to steal it. Among the contents of her purse was her shiny new drivers license, twenty bucks, a cell phone. These were the items that I considered most valuable. But, a 16 year old holds different values. On her most missed list: All her make-up (especially the new Sephora cuticle pen ) and her beloved running watch. Well, at least she learned how to file a police report and knows to keep her valuable close by.

On the plus side, after whining about my computer woes to my friend Mike, he reminded me to try the the old 'zap the PRAM' trick. I zapped away many times and was able to resolve my Mac problems. You saved me a whole bunch of money Mike. Thanx.

Today

It's a good morning for me anytime I have a few moments to go hunting for a shot. I was out on Deerfield Road today and saw this barn lit by sun with Hartley Knob in the background. I stopped and talked to the kind farmer who was tending to his cattle. The farmer's dog, Bob, followed me around while I snapped away.
Last night my Mac freaked out on me. I spent almost 4 hours trying to reboot it into OSX. No luck so basically I'm walking around today feeling as though I've lost a limb. What am I gonna do at night? I can't read blogs. Yikes! I am afraid that I'm going to have to beg, borrow or steal computer time from friends because my Mac situation doesn't look like it will resolve itself quickly or inexpensively. So much for the dreamy new lens  I wanted...
Today is Washington's birthday. And, today is also the birthday of another important person---my Father. Happy Birthday Dad!

Pulling Lumber

It is Monday. I have a cold. And, I have to report to Jury Duty. But, I just love this photo that I found in the collection that I am digitizing. It shows men pulling horse-drawn wagons of lumber. The photographer cleverly planted himself amid the rows of corn with everyone oblivious to his actions except one man who seems to be wondering what the heck he is doing. I am also curious as to why some trees have leaves while others are bare? It is hard for me to identify those trees from this photo but I'm wondering if that may be photographic evidence of the Chestnut Blight ? Probably not, but I'd love to hear your thoughts...

A Happy Weekend Indeed

So if there ever was an almost perfect Saturday...today would be the one. First, I slept till almost 9 a.m. Only the inner body alarm woke me. Understanding the karmic rule of 'let a sleeping teenager lie,' I crept around the house, sipping chai and mentally preparing for a shower. Then, out of the blue, Tom e. calls me to say that he might be able to arrange a visit to Dutch Creek Falls--but, he'll call me back in a few minutes. While waiting on his callback I check my emails. I got a particularly uplifting email from Melissa at Maine Life . Then I had time to check out a few friends on my blogroll. I love my blogroll--it is filled with good folk. Tom e. called me before 10 a.m. and we set a 2 p.m. date. I made a cup of hot chocolate and tip-toed downstairs to wake up my youngest sleeping beauty with a mug of love. ( Dear husband and eldest are out of town this weekend). It is my time to shower my youngest with 'much ado about her'. She wakes up and makes brownies. We decide to have her favorite meal: Steak, mashies, peas and blueberries for dinner. We decide to go to Dutch Creek Falls first, then take Harley for a walk at Valle Crucis Park, make a couple of cds for her friends, watch Napolean Dynamite together and just basically chill.
So now we are at home and I'm about to fire up the grill to cook her steak.
The trip to Dutch Creek Falls was perfect. My photo does not do justice to the actual scene (which is on private property by the way). When we first caught glimpse of the scene, there was a collective gasp in the car. It is unbelievable. The day was sunny and at 2 o'clock, there are shadows, but I still find it incredible that out in the middle of nowhere, there is such a magnificent waterfall. Happy weekend ya'll cause I am.

Dutch Creek Falls **Update**

This photo was sent to me courtesy of my good friend Tom e. It is another old photo of the Dutch Creek Falls from a different perspective. Tom told me that he may be able to get me in to see the falls. I can't wait. And, of course I will share the details with you.
And Mathieu thank you very much for the lovely postcard from Korea. I especially liked the rooster stamp and the handwriting inside. Nobody in the world has the distinctive handwriting like the French. Beautiful. I have all my postcards sent to me by my blog buddies on my special wall at work. And Mathieu, did you sign up for the Great International Secret Blog Exchange set up by Vivi at Dispatches from France ? I received my secret blog pal today. He/she (I can't tell if Keris in Lancashire is a male or female--help me someone!). I'm not sure what stuff I'm gonna send him/her yet but definitely will include a Live Strong bracelet and an area photograph.
Additionally, here is a Shout Out to my Dad. "Yo Pop, You Rock!!" and, I love you.

Dutch Creek Falls

If you have noticed that I haven't posted in a couple of days it is because I have been volunteering what is left of my energy/time to Historic Boone digitizing old fading photos. After a particularly long session, I came across the above photo and was immediately vitalized. You see, this is an old photo of the Dutch Creek Falls in Valle Crucis. I have never taken a photo of these falls . In fact, I have never laid eyes on these falls even though they are less than a couple of miles from my home. I want to take a photo of these falls but cannot because they are on private property and I have not been granted permission to view them. To see them, I would have to trespass and that would be wrong. I've heard tale that there was a big local scuttlebutt about the private purchase of the falls in the 1970's, but to air our dirty laundry would also be wrong. But oh well, at least we have the above photograph ....

But, the good news is that on the grounds behind the Valle Crucis Conference Center there is a lovely waterfall. The short hike to the falls is special as well. Check it out if you are ever in the area.

On a Positive Note

 

Who knew that a Mourning Dove's face could look all pinched up--just like my mother-in-law's when she doesn't put her dentures in?Just a simple visual I chose to share with you. I learned all this nature as I regarded the birds flitting around the feeders and the tree canopies at my parents house this morning. On the right I posted a new photo album of some of the birds lurking around at my Dad's North Raleigh home.

My eldest daughter and I went to Raleigh this weekend to visit my parents and to have her participate in her next to last cello audition of the hectic season. This one was the biggie. She was invited to participate in a state-wide competition and let's just say, the competition was enormous. 400 of the state's best and brightest musicians gathered in one auditorium to practice prior to their musical existence being reduced to a five minute audition. Every instrument known on the planet was bleeping, honking, shrieking and thumping in frantic desperation. I was amused as a clarinet player found a hidden stairwell to tweet out his sonatina. All I could think about was how many times his poor mother had to listen to that one song played over and over again.
I wanted to hug one poor cellist as she literally quaked in her skinny jeans. "I'm so scared,' she cried to no one in particular. My own daughter was remarkably cool--resigned to the fact that the odds were against her, yet determined to give it her best shot. My favorite moment was when I sat impatiently in the lobby with about 100 or so other parents and she burst through the doors like a scene from "American Idol". Her hands were thrown in the air and she dramatically yelled, " Free at last! I'll never, ever have to play that piece again. It is over! Hey Mom, I smiled during the audition because it was going to be over soon. But, I nailed it Mom, especially the site reading". A room full of people burst into laughter because she voiced exactly what everyone else was feeling. Complete relief that the audition was over and for at least our family, it was done on a positive note.