Monday, November 21, 2016

Bob's 60th

The big six-0! Lots of gifts for the new office/man cave.  I spent a few days trying to put this all together, didn't have much luck with the chair arms, but aside from that, the computer table and chair from IKEA were ready and an art display bin from Dick Blick to hold Bob's artwork will all go into the new room Thanksgiving weekend. 

Wrapping all of this was not an option, so since I have been working on getting some x-mas lights working, why not?!

With all the workers here, painters, switching our internet provider, and everything so crazy, baking a cake was not going to happen, so a cupcake will do!

I did, however, find the time to make the Pioneer Women's potato au gratin recipe, cheese, cream and potato heart attack!  Hopefully a nice bottle of red will counteract some of that!

Beautiful Ginko in town.

Since Bob's birthday was on a Wednesday, we planned to have lunch in Asheville on Saturday as a birthday extension.  As you can see, the smoke is still heavy, and they expect it to be here until March.  Still no rain and lots of wind.  We actually had a 20-acre fire down the road from us, which they contained.  The ban on burning includes fires in the fireplace.  One day of rain, that's all we need!

Gan Shan Station has been on our list of restaurants to try and it did not disappoint.  I wish I could make healthy food taste like this!  Next on the list is Taco Temple across the street. Gan Shan Station is close to the Grove Park Inn.  Gan Shan means Sunset Mountain.



Rice bowls with marinated veggies and tofu.  Best rice I've ever had!

Our thinking was that we would go to Asheville for lunch, Christmas shop since no one would be there like after Thanksgiving . . . WRONG!! Who would have thought they would be having a Christmas parade the weekend BEFORE Thanksgiving??  No place to park, crowded streets and stores.  Looks like I'll be shopping online this year.

Had to laugh, someone was dressed as a bear, but I didn't have my camera ready.

I have to admit, I did like the parade, though, some really cute characters.


Popped into a few stores that were dressed for Christmas just to look, not to shop.


Mushrooms at Anthropologie

Back on the homefront . . . 

. . . my antique lights are on the front of the man cave, and I love them.

Inside the man cave, the insulation is up and the spotlights in the peak of the ceiling adding a lot of much-needed light.  

I love how empty it is!  That won't last long.  The guys just laugh at me wanting to get Bob and his "stuff" out of the house and into his own room.

The ceiling fan was replaced with a WWII plane propeller fan, which all the guys liked.  It's definitely a "guy fan" and looks so neat in this room with all the exposed wood and goes with the era of the house.  Found at Lowes!

Jake is doing a great job with everything, very much a detail guy.

Struck gold at an estate sale, so will be putting items up on Ebay and in my Etsy shop while the crew comes with the sheetrock for the walls.  This is a four-day process, so I may have a Mexican crew here for Thanksgiving.  That could be fun! 

Monday, November 14, 2016

NC Wildfires

Found this photo of the Party Rock fire at Lake Lure near the Village of Chimney Rock, which was being evacuated on Friday. The closest fire to us is about 20 miles away, but the air is thick with smoke, lots of state parks closed and roads going up the mountain closed.

Today the smoke is by far the worst, very hard to breathe outside and the winds don't seem to help.  It has been four months since we've seen rain.  A lot of trees are dying.  There is a water ban and burning ban, no fires even allowed in fireplaces.  


This was early afternoon yesterday on the way to the stables to get manure for my compost pile.



The smoke didn't stop the horse event, which I was happy about, always needing more manure.  Heading back today to get another load.

Since a hike was out of the question this Sunday, we went to another church yard sale and came upon this vintage Falkenstein lamp for $5!  Falkenstein made lamps in Philadelphia from the '40s to the '60s.  We saw some selling for hundreds of dollars on Ebay, so this will be an exciting sale.   I am happy to say this tacky lamp is not one that I want to keep!

To me, it looks like a Chinese lantern or maybe poinsettias, which would make for a nice Christmas lamp.

I did, however, find a nice little milk glass lamp for $4 and a pair of Mid Century Modern turned walnut lamps for $12 that look so nice in my living room, but also sell for hundreds of dollars.  They are solid wood and must weigh 10 pounds!  Now this pair I would love to keep, but if they get a good offer, I will have to let them go.  Today the electrician will be here to put up the lighting and fan in Bob's new office.  Photos to come!

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Paths


The autumn dilemma:  Where do I put ALL THESE LEAVES?  

While the weather is still warm, outdoor cleanup and winter prep is top priority before moving back indoors to continue to paint.

Last year some paths were cleared as a good place to haul the leaves to mulch into new paths.  This year I added a new path off the front lawn, which will serve as another dumping ground for leaves and a nice walk through a canopy of trees.

First I mowed through the ivy, then started placing the raked leaves as a new path foundation.


I spent the whole weekend raking the old-fashioned way and hauling the leaves to the paths.  Today, high gusts of wind are bringing down the next round of leaf cleanup.


This path was cleared last year.  It is the circular path in the azalea garden and goes past the chicken coupe. 

Once spread out, the leaves make a nice mulch which is pleasant to walk on.



The camellias are coming in strong despite not having had rain in over four months.  I actually am looking forward to a rainy day.



Aside from the leaves, there is the never-ending job of getting ivy and wisteria off of trees and bushes and cutting back elaeagnus. A lot of it is turning brown and will end up as fire starter in the fireplace.
I think I may start gardening the way Kelly does!! I met Kelly recently at the Garden Patch in town.  She is the owner. We started talking about so many things and found out she bought the house Bob and I thought we were going to buy, The Log House!



This is the log house I fell in love with, but it wasn't meant to be. You can see The Log House tour when we looked at it in the Sept. 9, 2012, post.

I hope to visit this place again and see what Kelly has done.  I know she is working hard on restoring her garden, as am I.

The new room is painted!