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Visiting Biltmore

Neighbors Shawn and Bob went with us to visit Biltmore, the Vanderbilt mansion in Asheville. They had not been there for a long time, and I wanted to see the wedding costumes from movies that were on display. The shuttle bus driver said a few magic words that excited me. Visitors were allowed to take photos! We were asked not to use flash, but this was the first time I let the toy camera out of my pocket inside the mansion.

The winter garden was decked out with flowers and huge swags of white material, going with the theme of romantic weddings.  I took a quick back shot of Shawn and Bob there.

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I wish I’d stayed closer to our friends, because they say as many amusing things as neighbor Amy. When we stepped onto a second floor balcony, Bob said, “This would make a good hunting blind.”

 

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Bob, Shawn, and John on the balcony

I’ll include one set of pictures from the special display – the sign and costumes from the movie of Pride and Prejudice. My shots were not good because of the lighting, but the displays were lovely, scattered about the main rooms.

 

Our tickets included a wine tasting, something I’ve never done before. I took a quick shot of the others, and the waiter offered to get us all. He quickly put bottles on the counter and turned one so that the Biltmore label showed. I’m sure the camera grinned when the man commented on how small it was.

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We had a quick lunch nearby and went straight to Logan’s school to pick him up. Shawn and Bob opened the car windows so their son could see their faces in a strange car. We were soon home and ready to put our feet up after a fun day out.

Going Toe Up

Neighbor Amy says at least one amusing thing every time I talk to her. We talk long enough that I can’t recall the one sentence out of a thousand that tickled me. This time it was different. I had John as a witness, and we stopped to talk about the phrase.

Amy planned to have an older man do some heavy yard work for her, but she was afraid he might overdo it. She said, “I wouldn’t want him to go toe up on me.”

Bet you got it before I did. “Going toe up” means dying. I had some Tennessee phrases that people in New York found amusing, but my list was far shorter than hers.

Wrong Side of the Coat

Neighbor Amy began watching the TV series Downton Abbey when the fifth season was in progress. Before the finale, she wanted to see everything leading up to it. John and I expressed an interest in it, so we had marathon viewing sessions for a week. I skipped the last few, coming home to see the finale on TV.

I was having a hard time bending to pick up anything, because the back/hip pain was a muscle spasm that could last two to three weeks. Amy kindly picked up my jacket and held it for me. As I put my arms in the sleeves, I said, “This makes me feel like I’m at Downton with people to wait on me.”

Amy, ever quick with an amusing answer, said, “Yes, but I’m on the wrong side of the coat.”

The Day I Got Old

People in their 70’s should not be surprised when their bodies occasionally betray them. Although I am an eternal pessimist, I am remarkably optimistic about my health. Each time I recover from something, I say to myself, “Thank goodness that is over.”

It’s as if, once I’ve had something, the same thing will never happen again. There are some things that are permanently in the past, such as a gall bladder attack, an infected appendix, and swollen tonsils. Having immunity from these things gives me a false sense of wellbeing. I was surprised to wake in the middle of the night with a backache. Changing position did not alleviate it. I slid to the floor and thought, “I’m not sure I can walk.”

I did walk, if a hobble counts as walking. Lying in a different position might help, and with that I fell asleep again. When I woke ahead of the alarm, I was determined to walk to the creek if I could bend enough to get my shoes on. They say walking is the best thing for back problems, so the exercise could either improve me or make me lame. All was well until I paused at the creek, shifting my weight from one leg to the other. As new pain hit, I wondered where I’d turn for help. John was on his way to Tennessee to a train club, and the neighbors were probably asleep. I got back on the pavement, which did the trick. These words are proof that I made it home.

On the way home, I was remembering Amy’s recent account of seeing a relative. She hadn’t seen the woman for some time and was surprised to see her hobbling. Her pace was painfully slow.

Amy asked, “What’s wrong with you? Are you having hip problems or bad knees?”

I don’t remember the answer because Amy’s next blunt query made me laugh. She asked, “When did you get old?”

While trudging up the steep hill on Qualla, I decided this early March day might very well be the day I got old.

Spring?

On Leap Day I leaped into gardening. This must be a harbinger of Spring. Note this jump was just a baby step into gardening, because I’m at least one notch below novice. Neighbors Amy and Shawn, as well as sister Beth, encouraged and advised me through the past year. There is still a lot to learn.

I walked straight through the house after walking, picking up shears on my way to the garden. The tall clump of ornamental grass stalks has been cut down, ready for the new growth. I left a mess, though, which should be raked up.

On the bright side, we picked up some flower seeds the other day. Great patience will be required, waiting for the soil to warm up. Maybe we should hold the packets up near the window when the snow flurries come later in the week.

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Fierce Winds

There were warnings of strong winds, but we rarely get what is promised. I finished my shower. John got caught in the bathroom without windows or lights. I opened the door so he could see to get out. The generator kicked in, giving us electricity for the water pump, the microwave, and lights in several rooms. I ran out in the rain to check the gauge on the propane tank. We had no idea how much could be used if the power were out a long time.

Meanwhile, the wind roared and whistled. John left to keep two doctors’ appointments. I found the wind very unsettling. It was hard to think of anything but the sound of the wind. There was a crash on the screened porch as a glass candle holder exploded when it hit the floor. I picked up the pieces, not that they would be blown about like shrapnel. The bird feeder crashed on the bedroom deck. I put on a raincoat and rigged it up at a lower level, and the birds flocked to it. Stripping and remaking the guest bed seemed a good idea in case anyone needed to stay with us. I almost slipped on the kitchen floor and found water there. Somehow the fountain pump reversed itself, pumping water out of the container instead of inside it. What a mess! It seemed prudent to fill wastebaskets with water for the toilet and pitchers with drinking water. Back in the bedroom, I glanced out and saw the most brilliant rainbow I’d ever seen. An hour later there was another one, not so bright, but lying under the mountain. Only one photo showed a semblance of its brilliance.

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The wind continued its blustery mayhem. I pricked up my ears at sounds from the garage area. I was about to investigate when I heard a greeting from son $. He was here to visit before keeping an appointment in town.

We thought there would be rain all day. Instead, there was blue sky with white clouds scudding to the northeast. The shadows on the mountain slithered up and down the slopes, making a landscape that changed second by second. Sometimes it looked like dinosaurs chasing each other.

Downton Abbey-itis

With the finale coming up for the TV series of Downton Abbey, neighbor Amy borrowed the first season from the library. She and I watched seven episodes in two days while John was driving Nathaniel to New Jersey. John wanted to review the first ones, too, so Amy let us have the disks. We watched two last night and will probably see two more each day. I catch nuances that I missed each time I see one.

It was raining at morning walk time, and I longed to snuggle back in my warm bed. I told John I had Downton Abbey-itis after watching a scene with Lady Cora having her routine breakfast in bed. Now, the last thing I’d want is food near my bed, but oh! what luxury it would be to loll about when others are scurrying to get ready for the day!

We decided to do our walking at the rec center for the first time. We went swimming there while grandson David was with us for Christmas, but we had never seen the indoor walking track. It was on the second floor overlooking basketball courts, two other game courts, and the swimming pool off to one side. I took a position next to the wall, figuring other people might pass me. And pass me, they did! The track was sprinkled with old geezers and geezettes, every one of them speeding by me. They all looked older and more frail than I did. I could have gotten dizzy watching those silver heads whizzing by. If I’d had a superiority complex, it would have taken a severe beating. As it was, I tried to look proud while slinking back to the car.

Higher Elevations

Many weather forecasts for mountain weather include the phrase “higher elevations.” Mountain weather is not only regional, it’s perpendicular, too. We’ve seen rain fall in the valley while watching the top of a mountain turn white with snow. Nathaniel noticed white covering the top of a mountain in Maggie Valley, and he wanted to see if it were rime ice. This weather phenomenon was new to us when we moved to North Carolina. That day, though, the white turned out to be snow. John stopped the car so that Nathaniel and I could get a few photos. I wanted to show how the snow stopped abruptly, and I included the grandson who lives at a higher elevation from me when we are in the same house.

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We continued to my favorite waterfall. I’ve seen it in winter before, but it seemed rather bleak that day. We rushed on to church, enjoying the play of the setting sun on the mountain tops.

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A Balanced Life

As we began our walk, I told John that I was having difficulty leading a balanced life. I tied my shoes as usual, left first. When I walked a few steps, I realized the left was quite loose compared to the right. Having blooded an ankle the first time I wore those sneakers, I went right back and retied it. Two miles of botheration would be entirely too much. Wouldn’t you know it? The right one then felt loose. I could have spent all day trying to get them balanced.

A mile later, the view would have drawn my attention away from my feet if simply walking hadn’t done the trick. There was rime ice on top of the mountain. The toy camera gave equal billing to the sun on the clouds, so you’ll have to imagine how dramatic the ice appeared.

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Coining a Word

You never know when something is going to be so funny that you laugh until tears run down your face. We’d had 24 hours to get used to having grandson Nathaniel here for winter break. One of the first things I did was take his picture with the birthday balloon John bought him. His birthday was the week before, but we will celebrate with him later.

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Nathaniel is so tall that the house seems to shrink when he stands up.

 

The day began as any ordinary Sunday. We went to church in Asheville, had a brief discussion about where to eat lunch, and settled in our booth at Fatz. Conversation never lagged. We must have talked about people who did strange things, but that was erased from my memory by what followed.

In an ordinary sentence, Nathaniel made a statement with a straight face, fully expecting us to continue talking. John and I looked at each other with disbelief. Had we really heard what we thought we had?

“Say that again, Nathaniel.”

He repeated, “We all have our quirbels.”

We burst out laughing and couldn’t stop repeating the word in every other sentence. He took it with grace. It seems things come out of his mouth that people have never heard before, and his classmates accept them. They even compliment him on his huge vocabulary. His newly coined words are certainly out of their range.

We decided the new word was a combo of quirks and foibles. Just remember, if you notice someone doing an unusual thing today, we all have our quirbels.