The Kruger brothers

The Kruger Brothers, Jens and Uwe, were born in Switzerland.  They now live in Wilkesboro, which is located the next county over from Ashe.  They have played all over the world and are famous for their banjo and guitar playing.  They write their own music, which is a combination of blue grass, gospel and country.

We got to see them last night at the local Civic Center.  It was their premier performance of their new musical work, An Appalachian Concerto.  They got together with The Green Mountain Chamber Players, who are affiliated with University of North Carolina.

I made a short video of their concert but I can not get it to upload, so I went on youtube and found this:

Hope you enjoy it.

Shatley Springs Family Style Country dining

This month the Active Adult group at church went to the Shatley Springs Family Style Country Restaurant for lunch. Since we have heard such rave reviews of this old landmark, we decided to go. When we pulled into the church parking lot, and hubby saw the 10 very old people who were going, he backed out. So I went without him.


Shatley Springs is about 15 minutes away and it is a campsite with cabins clustered around a spring that was once rumored to heal people. Starting in 1890 people from near and far began to converge on the site seeking relief from varying skin diseases, stomach ailments, rheumatism and nervous disorders. The cabins built in the 1920's are still used today.


The restaurant has won "The Breakfast of Champions" award by Our State Magazine. I don't know about the breakfast, but lunch was tasty. Without a salad or soup on the menu, I chose roast beef, gravy, sweet potatoes and green beans. I didn't want fried chicken, chicken pot pie or fried country ham. You can also get your meal family style: fried chicken and fried ham along with 6 veggies, drink and dessert.

Cabins

The famous spring

More cabins

Another beautiful frosty morning

My neighbor's yard

When I went outside at 7:30 this morning I saw the sun rising over the misty mountains and I had to share it with you.  It was 27 degrees with a layer of frost.

My front yard

View from my back porch

View from my back porch

From my front yard
that's me in the corner

The deer's revenge

Last night we decided to go grocery shopping.   On the way, the driver in front of us was struck by a deer. The deer ran into her and was flung to the other side of the road.  We stopped to be sure the driver was okay.  The lady driving was about 35 years old and didn't seem fazed that her car was all dented and there was a half-dead buck 20 feet away.

A park ranger, on his way home from work, stopped to help.  And a man in a large white truck also stopped, but he seemed more interested in the deer than the accident.  Hubby thinks he was on the ridge spotting the deer, which caused it to run into the road in the first place.  After a few minutes we left the driver with the park ranger while they awaited the police.

You may be thinking, "Where does the revenge part come in"?  Well, the driver of the car had just come from her boyfriends company-a deer processing plant.  They cut up and package the animals that hunters bring in.

Christmas Boutique

I realize that it is only November 6th, but it tis the season for Holiday Crafts.  Down at the Lansing Fire Department was the "Bee"utiful Christmas Boutique with handcrafted items, gifts and home decor.  There are only about 200 people living in Lansing, so I wasn't expecting too much.  Boy, was I surprised.

After a 20 minute ride on on twirly, whirly road I made it there and parked next to the fire station in front of this building:

I parked here

I looked at the old building in front of me and this is what I saw in the window:

What is that in the window????

I don't know what that animal was doing in the window, I only hope it was stuffed.

Inside the fire station was a room prettied up for Christmas.

I went home with one of these cuties

There were trees, ornaments, cards, cookies, candles in tea cups, snowmen and so much more.

Here are some pics of the main street in Lansing:

The town is all on the same side of the street

Then I headed to Beaver Creek to the Christmas Open House at Petal Pusher.  This was my first time in the Beaver Creek area, which isn't far from the town of West Jefferson.  The Petal Pusher turned out to be a florist and gift shop.  The windows were so festive

This was one pretty shop.  All of the items were higher end Christmas decorations in purples and pinks.  I also saw a giant owl on top of a tree that had brown feathers sticking out of it.   I went away with a cup of hot apple cider.  They also offered sandwiches and cookies.

From one end of the county to the other everyone is getting into the holiday spirit!

Chili fundraiser

There are only 20,000 people that live in Ashe County and 16 percent live below the poverty level.  People here are hard working and  many live on farms.  Each year there is a chili lunch fundraiser with the money going to help people with their heating bills.

Thursday afternoon I made hubby get up and go to lunch with me.  We got there around noon and the parking lot was already full.  Inside there were two lines, one for take-out and one for eating in.  For $5.00 we got a bowl of chili with fix-ins, a drink and homemade desert.  If you wanted, you could have your lunch delivered to your door.  I overheard one of the delivery men say that they had orders for 400 deliveries.

By the time we were ready to leave there were no seats left and people were still coming in.  That's what I like about Ashe County, people looking after one another.

P.S.  They announced at church today that they raised almost $3000.00.  That's 600 meals served!