Chocolate Lounge

The background story is that son John $ was going to give daughter Lise a treat at the Chocolate Lounge in Asheville eleven years ago. However, they were with John and me, and we got hung up signing papers to buy the house I still live in. Lise never got her chocolate treat.

Lise was aware that it was restaurant week in Asheville. That’s a time when lots of restaurants have special menus at good prices. We talked about going for chocolate, but we didn’t make the final decision until just before we left. The weather wasn’t the best. It was snowing, and it was beginning to stick on the interstate highway as we came home. Even walking on a brick sidewalk in the city was a little dangerous.

Lise found the only available parking spot in the area next to a parking meter. As she was pulling the car in, she read the meter and found it was free all day Sunday! The restaurant, about three blocks away, was not busy. Most sensible people stayed at home because of the snow. We ordered the special – small servings of three desserts, savoring tiny bites as slowly as we could.

From left to right, the desserts were Lemon Parfait, Maple Pot de Crème (maple ganache over chocolate custard) topped with a hazelnut shortbread, and dark Chocolate Cake with Cherry Buttercream.

Lise had examined the choices for hot chocolate and chose Liquid Truffle. There couldn’t have been anything better, so I had the same thing. That was the most decadent drink I’ve ever had in my life! Snow had covered everything by the time we got home. Perfect timing!

Lise!!!

Neighbor Holly drove me to the airport to pick up Lise. She gets up quite early and knew she couldn’t make the airport run if the flight would be late. We hadn’t even gotten to the place when the phone rang, and it was Lise! She landed 20 minutes early!! That has never happened during the 11 years I’ve lived here. She had already claimed her bags and was out on the sidewalk, waiting for us to come. It was so much fun for the three of us to talk all the way home.

The first full day Lise was here, neighbor Shawn came over to visit after dinner. There are many times we don’t get a chance to sit and chat until she is about to leave. We’re all glad we started visiting early in the visit.

Neighbor Logan appeared at the door, knew where to find a soda here, and talked with us a little while. He wanted to accomplish something before bedtime, and Shawn suggested he bake cookies. He came back, saying the dough didn’t seem right. It seemed a bit too greasy. We found out later that he needed one ingredient. He got his dad, Bob, to take him to Dollar General to buy it. Before long, he came with a paper plate full of cookies. They were crisp on the edge, soft in the center, and very chocolaty. After passing them around, there was one left. I told him it was his. As he ate it, I realized it was a good opportunity to take his photo. He was willing, as always, to pose. That last bite was postponed until I had the phone aimed at him.

Shawn said she guessed the kitchen was a mess. “No,” said Logan, “I cleaned it all up!!”

Flat Tire!

I planned to go to the eyeglass place for new lenses, but when I drove up my street, the car didn’t sound right. I went back to my driveway and found the right front tire flat. Of course, my first reaction was to call on neighbors. Neither rescuer was available. I realized it was time for me to learn how to inflate a tire by myself! Thankfully, it wasn’t very cold where the sun was shining.

The new, unused gizmo for inflating things was in the trunk of the car. (Probably thanks to Lise, everything had been stored neatly in a trunk organizer.) With an overabundance of caution, I read the instructions a number of times before proceeding. The first hurdle was understanding symbols. A circle and a straight line were on the rocker switch. I used my phone to find out that the circle meant off. Did you know that? Maybe I’m the last one in the world to find out. I soon had the owner’s manual for the car in my hands, because I had to find out if the key needed to be on. With difficulty I was able to screw the tube end to the tire. It worked! I turned on the power, and the tire began to rise out of the rocks! At that point Jeff responded to my text and came to help. He knew to look at the inside of the door opening for a plate with the correct tire pressure. I had a number in my head from the car manual, but it was wrong!! I’m so grateful Jeff knew when to stop.

I drove down the hill to the service station, and two men went right to work. One moved the car a few inches while the other looked for a nail or screw. They jacked up the car, pulled out the screw, put a plug in it, let the car down, and it was done!

After paying, I just went home and put the car in the garage. I had had enough excitement for the day. My enthusiasm had been flattened.

C’mon! Git Goin’!

I had booked a bus ride four days before my annual eye appointment, having been warned not to drive after my eyes were dilated. The bus rule is to be ready 1.5 hours before the appointment. There I sat beside the living room window at 11:30, waiting for the ride to my 1:00 appointment. My coat and pocketbook were on the sofa with me. At 12:30 I called the dispatcher, knowing it would take at least 20 minutes to get to the office on the other side of Waynesville. He reassured me that the bus was on its way. He gave me the location, which was only halfway here from the town.

I was outside waiting as the bus hesitated at my drive. S-l-o-w-l-y it backed up, and the door opened. I scrambled on, greeted the driver, paid my fare, and was buckled in a jiffy. He crossed something off on a piece of paper, shuffled the papers, shuffled them again, clipped them on a board, checked a tablet, and finally put the vehicle in gear. He inched out of the drive and ambled along the road. At the highway, he let every car in sight go by before pulling out. I resisted the urge to look at the time on my phone, knowing nothing was going to hurry that man.

He pulled in past the office and insisted on backing up to get me close to the door. Such consideration I could have done without! Peeking at my phone at the door of the office, I saw it was 1:00, time for my appointment. Whew! At least I wasn’t late!

From then on, the news was good. The good eye had stayed the same, and the degenerated one was five feet better than last year. Left – 20/20 and right – 20/25. Dr. G. said I needn’t bother wearing glasses for distance. She agreed with me that turning last year’s glasses into readers would be a good idea. I’m to go to the other office where they have the equipment to change the lenses fairly quickly, using my present frames.

I had to wait quite a while to be picked up, but officially I was on the way home. A young woman was driving, and a man was already on the bus. As we drove toward his home in Maggie Valley, word came that there had been a serious accident on the highway to my house. The emergency was over by the time we got there, but it was a sobering sight. A couple of official trucks were on the other side of the highway with flashing lights, guiding cars past a small car. It was upside down with the roof caved in. I doubt the driver survived.

I was thankful to get home where everything was peaceful and quiet. I’d gotten a hamburger out of the freezer before I left. It was the last one I grilled outside before Thanksgiving. It tasted so good, paired with green beans, sauced and topped with French fried onions. Yes, real comfort food when I needed it!

Celebrating Julie’s Birthday

Niece Julie and Mike stopped to have lunch with me on their way to Tennessee to celebrate her birthday. The weather forecast was dreary, but it was sunny and fairly warm when we went to Waynesville. Not many people I know are amenable to eating in an Asian restaurant. I’m thankful they were! I didn’t twist their arms, even naming a few other places.

I pointed to the menu when ordering, and the waiter said the name aloud. I was reading Kung Fu Panda Roll, but he didn’t say it the way I would have! I wonder if I got what I pointed to?? It doesn’t matter, since it was most delicious. I must remember that pointing might be more accurate than saying anything aloud.

A Plethora of Music

There is now an abundance of music inside the house. Starting after Thanksgiving, I played every Christmas CD I owned, as well as all of John’s. It took the whole Christmas season to get through them all. Next, I played all the general disks of mine. Was I going to start with John’s? Yes, because by then I was used to playing one right after another, starting with exercise time before walking to the stop sign. For the sake of the neighbors, it’s good there is plenty of space between the houses.

I picked one row to start, not knowing what kind of music was there. The first ones were all Gregorian Chant – unaccompanied, single lines of sacred music in Latin. Most of them were men’s voices, which were quiet and soothing. The one I didn’t like was a single man’s raspy voice that sounded more like a barking dog than a human singing. Chants were sung in churches and monasteries, and there are still a few places that continue the tradition. Among John’s collection were a few recordings of women singing chants. Those were not as appealing to me.

This is where John’s CD’s are stored – in an odd non-corner of the living room. Most have not been touched since he died.

One disk seemed to be a dividing marker. It was music from the time of Nostradamus. That would have been after early music, moving into the Renaissance. The music looks more like our music today, with two staffs of five lines. However, it moves in lines flowing across the page rather than divided into measures with a definite beat.

A section of madrigals came next. They are secular songs that are often quite lively. I recognized a number of them, since John and I sang in a madrigal group in college. These songs come from the Renaissance and early Baroque periods. There may be lots more of the same. I’ll find out as I play them.

Quit Boasting!

I didn’t use the title that seemed appropriate – Pride Comes Before a Fall – because you would think I had fallen down. I didn’t.

I have been known to announce with pride that I get on the floor and up again once a day, seven days a week. I admit my tone was boastful. I had my comeuppance, or stay-downance, after changing the toner cartridge near the floor. I’d been expecting this for months, but I print only one letter a week. It’s amazing how little ink it takes. Last week I saw there was no more ink, so I chose a sunny day to get on the floor. Getting the little cartridge out was easy, but I couldn’t get the new one in. I knew which way it should go, but I could not SEE why it was hung up. In desperation, I wiggled it until it finally clicked into place. Whew!!

Below is the printer, inches off the floor.

I couldn’t get off the floor. I then remembered to take off my shoes, because sneakers don’t slide on that carpet. I normally exercise with bare feet and loose clothing. Jeans don’t fit that description. Oh! I took the phone out of my pocket. Finally, I could move and was able to get on my feet. What a relief! I had the phone and could have called for help, but what an ignominious failure that would have been!

What I discovered is that preparing for an emergency, as in getting off the floor with nothing nearby, is marvelous. However, the emergency won’t be exactly the same. You’ll still have to use brains to figure out how to adapt your skill to deal with the problem. Welcome to the real world, Anne.

Snow Storm

Having been prepared for the previous winter storm, I didn’t need to do anything for the next one, except wait for it. Two neighbors knew they were invited to stay here if they lost power. It began to snow Friday evening and continued for over 24 hours. I don’t think we got as much measurable snow as lots of folks to the east of me. Niece Kathie in Charlotte put out a one-foot ruler, and it was covered up before it stopped snowing. The flakes were not large here.

I understand roads were hazardous. I had no need to go out and was content to stay inside. I took a few photos that could pass for almost any real storm here in the last eleven years. There was one picture, though, that was rather dramatic for me. It shows the temperature at 0 degrees. At that, I missed it showing -1 because I wanted to finish the morning set of exercises.

It was the cold that actually affected our neighborhood. When the temperatures plummeted, the next morning I noticed the power went out for a few seconds. It wasn’t off long enough to make the generator start. It happened about every 10 to 15 minutes. Later Shawn told me that this had happened throughout the night. I only saw it after 7:00 am. My house was quiet about it, but hers went overboard. I don’t remember all that happened, but Bob’s CPAP machine stopped, and something whistled, causing the dog to bark. That would be a lot to endure for hours at a time. In my house the Echo devices began to blink, and the router silently stopped and started itself again. No wonder it didn’t wake me up! Shawn said the power company did brown-outs to conserve electricity. This happened two nights when it was very cold, but things seem back to normal now.

Broken Clouds

My telephone showed the time in huge numbers, the date in a much smaller font, and the weather in tiny letters. It was the weather that caught and held my eyes. It said, “18° Broken Clouds”. Only the words on my phone struck me. If the clouds are broken, who broke them and will they fall on me? Being a child of the 20th Century, I know there is much more to “sky” than clouds and an expanse of blue. There is space out there, lots of space! There is debris in space that is falling toward us. I’m happy to report that I glanced at an article that said we now have the capability of intercepting things falling out of the sky. Whew! I’m not going to worry about broken clouds anymore.

Day After the Storm

As forecast, the temperature began to drop. I closed all curtains and blinds to keep the rooms as warm as possible. I could walk by a window and feel coldness coming inside. I’m glad I couldn’t shut down the front windows, because it snowed for hours. The sun was shining brightly! I’m not used to that. To me, it’s not a real snowstorm unless the sky is totally overcast. There was a bit of white only in places where the sun didn’t reach. It’s just as well it was not accumulating on sunlit paths and streets. Holly’s roof was holding snow, but Shawn and Bob’s was not.

The temperature continued a downward spiral and settled at 6 F (-14.44 C). I had things to do on the desktop computer. It lives in the coldest room of the house, so I pulled out my electric heater and found it to be a lovely companion. Perhaps I was relieved that the storm had not been intrusive. The evening dwindled away, and I was happy to climb in bed and sleep the night away.

It was too cold to walk the next morning, although it did warm up to just freezing a bit later. It was a day of meandering about the house, with nothing important accomplished. It seems that fizzled storm was a great disruption that accomplished nothing. Hopefully life will soon be back to normal.