Pisgah Inn

A family favorite is eating at Pisgah Inn on the Blue Ridge Parkway. We always take a photo inside to show that we have a fantastic view of mountains and clouds, although they never show up clearly. For that matter, we don’t show up well, either. It just proves we were there enjoying ourselves.

After eating, we went out to the viewing deck to admire the scenery and take photos. Daughter Lise is good at selfies. The wind is always blowing and was rearranging our hair that day.

I thought it would be fun to record Lise’s taking a selfie and the resultant photo.

I don’t see well, so I didn’t notice cause and effect didn’t match. Sharp-eyed people might see that in one she is wearing a jacket, and in the other she isn’t. Both were taken the same day near the parkway, one at Pisgah Inn and the other at an overlook. Would you have noticed if I hadn’t told you?

There was joy in being together there, with no hint of sorrow. I never thought about closure until I looked at the date of the photos. It was ten months to the day after John, grandson David, and I had reservations to eat at the inn. Making a call to cancel was the first thing I did after the hospital told me John had died. Our being there in April was fulfilling a desire a different group of three had in June. David and I thank John for thinking of it and Lise for making it happen. Life goes on, still filled with joy from God.

Easter Time

Daughter Lise and her friends in Denmark often make wraps with rice paper when they are together. She set out the fixings for us the day before Easter. We dipped one rice paper sheet in water, laid it on a plate, filled it, folded it up, and made a mess of eating it. It worked better with the second one. The fillings we had were lettuce, mango, cucumber, carrot strips, bean sprouts, chicken, shrimp, and a peanut sauce Lise made.

David and Lise posed with the rice paper package. After Lise went home, David and I had another round and felt we were getting better at handling the wraps.

I was amused that the three of us were taking photos of the food we had for Easter. It was a break with tradition, since they voted for the casserole we usually have for Christmas instead of ham. Lise wanted the standard green bean casserole, and I added neighbor Connie’s grape salad.

It was colder than usual the day after Easter. Here is a photo showing ice in the hummingbird feeder. I probably did not see it right, but I thought I saw the jagged bottom of an iceberg hanging down into the cold water.

For those of you who celebrate Easter, do you have a traditional meal for the day?

Creeks and Waterfalls

I try to get a photo each time a new person walks to the creek with me. This time it was a new group – daughter Lise and neighbor Lisa, with Lisa’s dog. Rosie is a St. Bernard/poodle mix, a beautiful dog and really full of life. The young women climbed down to the edge of the creek so that Rosie could get a drink.

The same highway I cross going to the creek goes past Looking Glass Falls. The difference is that I am in a valley, and the falls are across a mountain from here. I’ve lost count of the number times I’ve been with visitors to see the falls. I always stayed up on the road, being concerned about the number of steps to get to the base. This time, with David’s and Lise’s encouragement, I walked down there. I took this photo of their backs.

Lise turned a camera on me as I walked up the steps. It was remarkably easy, but then I wasn’t trying to run up, as many young people do. Yes, I did have a feeling of satisfaction, knowing I could do it again if I wanted to.

The next morning I saw Kacey on Lise’s bed. She might have been “helping” Lise finish work for the day. When Lise is here, she often works starting at 4 in the morning, when her co-workers are in the office in Denmark. She takes her lunch hour at 8 am to walk to the creek with me. It works out well.

Lise’s Spring Visit

Daughter Lise lives so far away (Denmark) that we try to make every moment count when she is here. The first photo was taken at a favorite restaurant in Asheville.

Below are Easter breads Lise brought from Italy. She worked in Milan for several weeks and loved the people and the food there. The first was a small one, almost an individual serving. A broken tulip indicates the size. The chocolate covered one was huge, resting on a large dinner plate. It was filled with tubes of soft chocolate. Both were delicious.

Chocolate bread displayed on a large dinner plate

I remembered to have Lise take a selfie the first time we walked to the creek. Walking is an exercise we both enjoy.

Sunburst is my favorite waterfall. For the first time, I didn’t stay on the bridge, but went out on the rocks that line the stream. For some reason I started the video. I don’t know what I wanted, but result has amused me. It shows how people get in place when asked to pose together This took longer for them, because the rocks were uneven and slanted. The still shot was routine. When you put the two together, you have the brief history of the photo.

Arranging themselves

Kacey LIED to Me!

I stayed up late Saturday night and planned to sleep through David’s leaving for church. The streamed service I planned to watch wouldn’t start until 8 am. Kacey started to bark at about 6:45, going on incessantly. When I came out, David was gone and Kacey danced a jig to tell me she desperately needed to go outside. I threw on clothes in a rush. That lying dog ran to the side yard, then she sniffed every blade of grass in her usual path, while pausing to sniff the air and look all around. There was absolutely no need for us to rush out. If I spoke enough “dog”, I would have reprimanded her.

I did check the cam footage from the front porch. I could see where David’s car was turned on at 6:47, and he would have driven off soon after. What I didn’t see was dog and man walking in the front. David must have taken her out in the back, but it was certainly enough to take care of her needs for several hours.

This was a very long Sunday for David, and one that Kacey and I didn’t want to share. He was at church for a brief rehearsal before the early service, and I saw him on the screen with the bell ringers and sitting in the congregation. After that, there were rehearsals for bells and choir then performing again in the late service. I’m fairly sure most of the ringers would have left after performing, but David ran the sound board. He helped the choir director move bells back to the music room and left church at 2 pm. He kindly did the week’s shopping near church and headed home. Last week he was caught in stopped traffic on the interstate, so this time he remembered and had me check the map. There was another massive tie-up, so he knew to get off two exits early. He got home at 3:30, gone for a total of 8 ¾ hours.

Later in the day Kacey heard me tell David that she tricked me. She insisted on her innocence for demanding to go out. “I HAD to sniff everything carefully in case something had changed. It’s my duty to protect you.”

Spring Walk

The weather is warming, and people are coming out again. Welcome Spring! As I walked, neighbor Shawn stopped her car and asked, “Are you going to come with us this afternoon?” Logan must have told her that I was willing (make that eager) to go to his first tennis match of the season after school. He had asked me when he came over to play chess with David. As they drove on to school, Logan had his window down to wave. I used my two-armed wave, a goofy custom we’ve had going for a while.

I spoke to “Woodman” as I walked past the place where he and his 80+ dad split firewood to sell to tourists and locals. He said, “We’ll have all seasons in one week!”

I replied, “I took off my coat.”

“It could be summer by the end of the week,” he said.

I called back, “I might go sun bathing.” It was fun to laugh with him.

Fluffy dandelion puffs waved me on as I went to the creek. Going back through the gas station, I saw Shawn turning off the highway, heading home.

At the top of the hill, I retrieved my jacket and hat hanging on the coat hook that Lisa and Harmony put up for me last year. This time I got a close up that, without the bright sun, shows my name.

Coming toward me were Lisa walking Rosie and Julie walking Mickey. Their animated talk and laughter added life to the mountain air. I’m sure Rosie is the largest dog I see on the road, and Mickey is one of the smallest. Holding my coat, I needed another hand to pet BIG and little at the same time.

It is marvelous to have brief conversations with the best neighbors in the world!

Good Eye News

For months I couldn’t get off the six-week cycle of eye injections for macular degeration. The goal was to go longer and longer between shots. Once before I made it to the 8-week spacing, only to have the eye get worse. This time the doctor tried a more potent medication, and it seems to have worked well. He was pleased, so I’m going to be happy with it, too. After the next injection, I’ll return in eight weeks rather than six.

Substitute Church

Things had to change, because we live much too far from church. Three times we came home to find dog poop on the kitchen floor. Our being gone for five hours was too much for Kacey. I am pleased that grandson David is involved with the bell choir and the choir, with rehearsals before church, and that is why I decided to stay hone and watch church on line. Even that was uphill. I was in the right place at the right time, but the only active thing on the screen was the chat room. I couldn’t get the streaming video to start. Shortly, others commented on not being able to get the service, either. It came on after the sermon started. I saw enough to know it was about letting your light shine (reflect), an updated version using a light bulb instead of a burning candle.

I thought David might be home around 2:30, but he called at 3:30 saying he was just leaving church. He stayed to learn more about running the sound board during services. After shopping for weekly groceries, he headed home, only to be caught in stopped traffic near our interstate exit. He got home eight hours after he left in the morning. Kacey asked to go out three times during that period, so I feel I made the right decision to stay home.

This photo sums up my Sunday. I was dressed for the day before David got up and didn’t look at my feet until he got home. Yes, I wore a non-pair of shoes all day without feeling anything different. Give me full points for having matching earrings, though.

Neighborhood Walking

We are not out of winter yet, but Spring walking has started. From time to time I will join someone already out walking, or a neighbor will walk part of my route with me. Today Lisa and dog Rosie came out of their house, walked to the stop sign with me, and came all the way to my house. Rosie got excited, because she adores Shawn, across the street from me.

As we got near, Lisa said she thought Shawn was not up yet. I said, “If we stand here talking loudly, maybe it will wake her up.”

As I walked to my driveway, Shawn’s door opened, and she was waving at us. I had to keep going to stay on schedule, but Lisa and Rosie went in so Shawn could get her “big dog” fix. Sadly, her boxer died recently, so Rosie helps fill the dog section of Shawn’s heart.

Chatting Over the Fence

I always thought it would be fun to chat with a neighbor over a fence. I found out how delightful it can be. Having let Kacey onto the front porch, I secured the wire gate to keep her in. Shawn’s Abbey returned Kacey’s bark, which alerted us humans that we were all outside. They came across the street while Shawn’s weed eater was being charged and had a lovely visit over the “fence”. We didn’t know, and didn’t want to find out, how the little dog and big dog would get along without the barrier. With it in place, Abbey took a nap in the sun, while Kacey found things to chew on. Shawn and I had no trouble filling the air with lots of words. How pleasant and satisfying that was!