Hair salon

December was the last time I dyed my hair.  Gray hairs started sprouting when I was only 16 and I haven't seen my natural color in 25 years.  My hair isn't that long and it is curly, so I didn't look hideous while the old color left and the new color came in. (at least I don't think I did)

It was time for a hair cut.  For over ten years I had been following Michael around Boca Raton and was spoiled by his expertise.  I asked around for referrals and was sent to the LadyBug to see Stephanie.  The LadyBug is a hair boutique and gift shop that sells jewelry, clothes and what nots.  Stephanie is a cute little 25 year old that used the phrase "Bless your heart" a lot.

She was very excited about her upcoming trip to Las Vegas with the other LadyBug employees.  They were going to some kind of trade show.  It was going to be the first time she had ever flown on an airplane and the farthest she had ever been away from home.  Her mom didn't want her to go.

Fifteen minutes later the last of my hair dye had been cut from my locks and I took off, happy and gray.  I hope Stephanie enjoys her weekend in sin city.  Bless her heart.

  

Wildlife

We are certainly enjoying the butterflies, birds and rabbits that we have been seeing in our yard.  Hubby bought a climbing vine and trellis and put them next to the house.  He found an old bird house that one of the kids painted years ago and set it on top of the trellis.  Two days later we had a pair of birds living in it.  Like anxious parents, we are awaiting the birth of our first baby birds.

The flowers in the mountains are just fantastic.  In Florida, the only plants I could grow during the summer were geraniums, and they had to be in a pot on the porch.  Here we have our pick, each one prettier than the other.  The butterflies are attracted to them all.

Biltmore House was built in 1895 by George Vanderbilt.  There are 250 rooms (we saw 42), 65 fireplaces, and a 10 foot deep indoor swimming pool with electric lights (this was before electric lights were common), comprising 175,000 square feet.  There was a walk-in refrigerator,  electric washing machine, bowling alley and fitness room.  There was a lot of the original furniture and art work.

The grounds contained gardens, ponds, green houses and acres of fruits and vegetables.  It was so hot that we couldn't see everything.

We drove four miles to the winery where we tasted as many types of wine as we wanted.  I had never done a wine tasting before.  The bartender gives you a list and description of the wines and you let him know what you would like to try. We bought three bottles for a total of $34.00.  The wine is made right on the property.

The next morning we headed for home.  About 30 minutes into the drive hubby turns to me and said he forgot to bring the wine!  He called the hotel and they said they would mail the bottles to us.  Sure enough, UPS brought them yesterday at a cost of $47.00  I hope they taste as good as we remember them.

The Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands

Over the weekend hubby and I went to Asheville and met up with Dave's cousin and his wife.  We went to the Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands and Biltmore Estates.

As soon as we got into Asheville we went down this street with these huge older homes set on large lots.  I said to hubby "I sure wouldn't mind living here."  A minute or so later we were in the middle of downtown Asheville and I changed my mind.  It was like driving in Atlanta or NYC.  Cars were everywhere.  We found the Civic Center, but could not find a place to park.  We spotted the parking garage and it took about 15 minutes to get there, between dodging septic trucks digging up the street and one-way roads, we were frazzled.  The parking lot was full!!  We headed to the hotel and took a cab.

The Craft Fair of the Southern Highlands features craftspeople from the Appalachian region and focuses on the traditional process of crafts.  I just wanted to find something cool to hang on my front door.  No luck there.  These were high-end crafts.  Hand carved furniture, blown glass, fancy jewelry, woven cloth, leather purses, clay people and very large price tags!!  We did walk away with a small pottery bowl made to hold cut flowers.

More on Biltmore Estate later...

The end of the rainbow

The locals have a saying, "If you don't like the weather, wait ten minutes".  It's true,  the weather fluctuates as fast as my hot flashes.  Late yesterday afternoon we had a hard rain.  When we looked out the back door there was a huge rainbow in the valley below our house.  What was so awe inspiring was, we could actually see the end of the rainbow.

Heading to church

A great way to meet  new people is to join a church.  Living in the middle of the Bible Belt gives us a plethora of choices.  Not wanting to join a Holy Roller congregation, I thought we could try the small Catholic church next door to the post office.  We got there a few minutes before 9 AM and there were cars overflowing the parking lot, many with out-of-state plates.  We found a seat and settled in.  Not knowing all of the traditions and responses, I just winged it.

I knew we had chosen correctly when the pastor announced it was his first day and he was sorry he missed the confession that morning.  Father James is a pleasant young fellow and had a great story to tell.  He was an engineer working for the military.  The base was having a hard time finding a permanent pastor and he prayed that one would be found soon.  During one of his prayers God spoke to him and said he should become a priest.  Father James said "God, you must have me mixed up with someone else, I am an engineer and I love my job."  Even though he did not mention this conversation to anyone else, little old ladies kept coming up to him to tell him he would make a wonderful  priest.

He went on a trip to Rome and told God that if the Pope told him he should go into the clergy, then he would go. Of course, he never got close to the Pope.  He went sightseeing around the city and ran into a Bishop who told him, "You should become a priest."  He went back home and applied to the seminary and ten years later, here he is.

What I like about this church is they have activities such as pot luck dinners, yard sales and picnics. This reminds me of the Methodist Church I went to growing up.  I'm not sure it will work out between us, but I am going to give it a try.  If not, there are 78 more churches to choose from.

Happy Birthday Chris!

My youngest son turns 20 years old today.  For the first time in 8 years I no longer have a teenager in the family.  I have to admit, the boys' teenage years were not so bad.  We were the house that everyone congregated to, so we were able to keep a close watch on them.  The hardest part was feeding large groups of boys.  There always seemed to be an extra person or two at the supper table.

Now that I think about it, there was a lot of accidents as well.  Andrew broke his arm in a bounce house and got hit by a rock at a monster truck rally, someone got hurt playing football, Chris got sun poisoning and missed 6 weeks of school, the golf cart got flipped a few times, and the go-ped was a bad idea right from the start.  Between the 4 wheelers, dirt bikes, lawn mowers, skate boards, roller blades and bicycles, it is amazing they made it to their 20's.

Now all I have to worry about is college tuition, deployment, drugs and STD's.   Bring back those teenage years!!

Happy 4th of July!

I think our dog, Lucy, loves living here more than we do!  She is content to sit outside all day long.  She watches the rabbits, birds and bugs as they flit around the yard.  When the hummingbirds come to the feeder, she remains very still and is mesmerized by the sound of their wings. Lucy is getting used to the walks up and down the hills, but she still sits down when she's had enough, even if we are a long way from home.

Muscovy ducks

Hubby wants to buy a golf cart.  We traveled 20 minutes to the middle of nowhere to find Blue Ridge Golf Carts.  It is situated on the most beautiful piece of property.  There is a big old house with a stream running through the yard.  There is a barn with chickens and a huge duck pond with ducks.  There are white ducks and mallards.  I looked a little closer and saw a pair of Muscovy ducks.   In Florida we consider these to be nuisance animals.  Yes, said golf cart girl, she bought the ducks not realizing they were not water ducks and all they do is walk around and poop. Yuck.