Happy President's Day!!

This past weekend brought us a snowbound couple of days to catch up on our reading and resting! AAHHHH!!! I know most of you will never believe this, but I actually stayed in jogging pants and sweatshirts all day yesterday ... under the electric blanket (which is on the bed!) and read an entire book! At the day's end, Paul congratulated me for not "freaking out" and spending an entire day of doing NOTHING in the house! Guess I was tired! Watching the snow fall in BIG slow and lazy flakes, and then quick little frantic flakes, and then back to the BIG flakes again is a bit mesmerizing! Every time we looked out the window it was STILL SNOWING! You just don't get views like that in Orlando! It was a glorious weekend and the rest and relaxation was so very welcomed by us both! I'm sure Paul thinks I must've been sick ... after all, he brought home the granite to re-do the kitchen sink and counters that I've been waiting for since October, and I told him to wait until this week. I'm sure he thinks I was replaced by an alien just for that alone! But I'm back to myself and hoping that the sink gets sunk tonight! I'm so excited about the prospect of being able to actually reach the sink without lifting my shoulders up to accommodate the counter top!!! It's really the small things in life, isn't it!?!?! And we're beginning to talk about hanging things on the walls now too ... and I've unpacked a few boxes of crystal and china ... so, little by little, we're making this our home.

Today in the High Country the weather is not anything like it was yesterday! Although Paul's departure this morning took about 20 minutes to exit the driveway. The ground was just frozen! So he ended up loading tree trunks (wood from our trees, remember that?) into the truck bed and letting out some of the air from his back tires and finally got out of the driveway. Smooth sailing after that!!!! Too bad he had to leave so early, when I left for town I had no problem at all. But school was cancelled today, so some of the county must still be frozen. The sun has been ablaze since sunrise today and it actually was in the 40's here!

H E A T W A V E !!!! We're looking at some 50's potentially by week's end!!! I know spring is not in the air because my bones hurt like crazy, but the locals are out buying spring clothes now. I guess when you live in this all your life, spring is something you try to push along. Paul & I have been reading books of local lore ~ and if anything they've indicated is true, you can't even plant flowers until after Memorial Day! In Atlanta it was EASTER, in Orlando, well ... whenever you want! Although I understand Orlando had a little cool spell and everyone is renewed and happy! I always loved the 3 weeks of winter we had there. I went outside today for a little while and watched some of the ice cycles fall off of the house and crash to the ground like daggers. I don't remember that in Orlando. When we go from Elk Park to Banner Elk we go across a mountain. The scenery is scrumptious and I keep meaning to take my camera so I can share it with you all. The water that is coming down the mountain is frozen in motion on the sides of the rocks. The stream that is on the side of the road is frozen, the rocks are covered in ice and snow. It is breathtaking to see and so simply peaceful to listen to the stillness of the earth. It's one of my greatest pleasures here.

Speaking of pics, the ones above are, of course, the guest room. The lighting in there is so very difficult to get pictures with. I'll try again in the dark and see if it works better without the light coming into the room. Maybe I can actually get the flash to work ... but anyway ... we are very tickled with what we've accomplished to date upstairs. And our first guests didn't fall through the floor or get into a flood or anything other than be comfortable, albeit a bit chilly without the space heater. The wall turned out to be gorgeous. It's going to take several weeks of consistent cleaning and polishing that wood since it was covered with paper and paste for so long. But in a few weeks, it's going to have a patina that will really highlight its natural beauty. A friend of mine is redoing her condo and is going to donate her current bathroom vanity to us! So that lovely camp vanity that is in the bathroom now will have to go ... takes away some of the character, but I think we'll live without it. I know the boys would love it, but the adult guests might prefer a more updated version, so we're grateful to have the donation! We've put the word out to everyone we know that we take unwanted furniture! It's a fun treasure chest around here!

We went to our friend's surprise birthday party Saturday night (Barry, the realtor who sold us this house - and Caroline, his wife who I work for now) and we got about 1/3 of the way up Beech Mountain when Paul announced we were losing traction. I was so proud when he stopped, turned around, went down to the bottom and called for a shuttle to the top!! It was a fun time at the party, plenty of great food and wine, and even better company! There were people there that we felt very lucky to meet. Beech Mountain is one of the ski resort areas around here, and although there are about 1700 home/condo owners, there are only about 300 year round residents. It's a great area for people who want to live on top of a mountain in a community like that one. It's also a GREAT place to rent for ski season, and for hiking season. This past 3 day weekend (today included, I guess) is apparently the last big ski weekend for the tourists up here, so things will be wrapping up until warmer weather now. I guess that's why Mother Nature gave us such a fabulous weekend of snow, so the economy here and the skiers could all get their money's worth! We were trying to go out and eat Friday night w/ Jon and Melissa, but the reservations are only made for parties of 8 or more ... and waiting for a couple of hours in a bar of drink and smoke wasn't on my list of "want tos" ... so Jon made us a delicious steak dinner with all the fixins of a fine chef, and we stayed in and ate, drank and played Scattergories, which was SO FUN! Thanks, kids, for humoring us old folks for a little while!

So, this week is President's Day, Shrove Tuesday (for which Paul insists I must make pancakes) and the start of lent ... along with Ms. Kelly's birthday on Saturday!!! Happy Birthday, Kel! Wish I could be there to sing to you ... but maybe we can recapture the celebration spirit when I do get there ......... or you get here! You'll have your very own "suite" this time! In the news today, they rescued 3 hikers (thank GOD) from a horrendous snow storm in Oregon, I think ... and Brittney Spears shaved her head. Hmmm .... Hope everyone is well and happy and we hope to hear from you all soon! Paul & Cheri