On the Brink!

Sunflowers are just about to bust with yellow splendor!

Corn has silked - won't be long now until we're eating fresh corn! This is from Christian's garden

Fresh basil, and dill here

Beans, beans, and more beans!
Carrots and Beets !!!

Pumpkins! They are such fun to grow!

Cucumbers, onions and broccoli

you guess! Yellow squash, of course - which Paul is now eating with passion!

tomatoes - we have gobs!

My favorite butterfly bush - which brings tons of winged beauties to visit daily! so much fun!

The Avant Garden from the kitchen window! And the view, of which we never tire









The garden is on the brink of being our grocery store! We have already begun to reap beans and potatoes ... galore! Which we ate some in our dinner last night. It is such fun to pick dinner from the back yard ... not that we've gone to raising chickens and cows ... NEVER ... but the veggie garden is great fun. All three of the grandsons have a garden square and the plants are definitely growing at great speed now. Mother nature has seen to it that it rains just enough each day to water the gardens and make mud. :-) When we first started making all these dirt squares the neighborhood cats thought it was litter box heaven! Took us putting chicken wire over them to convince them it was not their own personal toilet garden!

Prince charming is still sleeping, but once he awakens we will be out in the garden for the day as it needs plenty of work now. It does save on the grocery bill ... and this year we will be canning and freezing to supplement our budget ... but there is physical labour and love involved in getting that accomplished! Paul seems to love it, and has "put up" dozens of jars of wild blackberry jam. He does that when I'm sleeping at 2AM so I won't have a heart attack in the midst of the mess he makes! I am so very happy to report that he has finally found the kitchen, and seems to enjoy being in it actually doing stuff! Guess when you live in Mayberry you must find things to do with your time! HA!

The weather is absolutely GORGEOUS and this time of year is why we love it here. Although, we do penance in the winter, right now it's worth the chattering teeth and shivering for months! The temperature is supposed to get to the 80's today, but thus far it is 68 with a slight breeze and some fluffy white clouds floating around. The cats are sunning on the back porch, basking in lazy Sunday morning life. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH ... life! You've gotta love it!

We have been otherwise fairly busy. It's tourist season here so that means busy at work. And it keeps the roads filled with folks who are very apprehensive about mountain driving, so it slows the locals down and causes some grumbling ... especially when there is a FLORIDA license plate on the slow car. Having come from the orange state, I understand the time it takes to acclimate to driving in the mountains. But the natives are unforgiving and I'm glad I have a North Carolina tag! Good grief!

Paul is having a "Florida experience" now at work since the workshop is over 100 degrees. Also since he works in Tennessee, it is much warmer where he works than where we live. Funny how that 27 miles can be 15 to 20 degrees difference in temperature. Then when you add the heat from the welders and so forth, he sweats to death through his entire shift ... and here I am complaining about being cold and damp when I get home from work. The perspectives change a bit ...

On the home front ... or whatever front in our lives and connections ...

Our friend Beth is now in Massachusetts caring for her mom, who finally got to go home after being in hospital and rehab since early April. We are still caring for Beth's plants and "bungalow" as she cares for her mom. If any of you have extra good thoughts to generate, please send them some! Her mom is on full time respiratory therapy, voice box sometimes, and respirator some times. Although she can sit up with help, she is pretty much in a "bed ridden" state and has to have full time care. She could use some extra energy, as could Beth and her dad. :-)
My mentor, Chrissie, had her 4th child last week. He is so beautiful, and if you go to her blog you can see the pic of them together. So precious! And so thankfully, all is well with everyone!

I drove 586 miles last weekend. Jennifer had some surgery (girlee stuff) so I went down to Atlanta to help out. I agree with Janet, it's amazing how far you can drive and how many states you can go through in one day! I go across NC, up through SC, and up through and across GA. It's about 5 hours to Jenn's ... on a good day in Atlanta traffic. It was great fun to go to the city for a few days, have Starbucks, eat in a real restaurant, watch all the crazed city folks in their hurries, but I am "at home" now in the mountains. I was very glad to be back up here on my little perch! Jennifer, I'm happy to say, is doing great and spent last week with Christian in L.A. with her dad having a bit of R&R .... which we all know the kid absolutely deserves! I'm not sure how much rest she got, but I'm so glad she was not working for 7 days! That is a miracle all by itself!

My sister-in-law (Debbie) and her parents are coming to visit us Labor Day weekend. We haven't had much adult company, it'll be a nice treat for us! And so wonderfully, Debbie is moving along with her life now and willing to take a trip!! So, I will be back to painting this coming week ... the upstairs bathroom and etc. :-) Painting ... will it ever end?

Our grandson Christian will turn 5 years old on Wednesday! He is so excited! His birthday party is going to be Saturday the 9th, for which we may get to go to Chucky Cheese! Well, there you go! Our exciting social life!

Stefanie, the owner of the studio where I worked for the past 2 years and her fiance' Jesse, are getting married on the 16th! I know she's filled with "to do's" and I can only imagine how nerve racking all that planning and etc. is. Good luck, Stef .... just call if you need me!

Our friend Pennisu continues to grieve with a very heavy heart after the loss of her mom. Please send her thoughts if you can ... and Psu, know we've got you in our prayers and in our arms. God Bless.

Here is just a reminder to you all ... we are accessible by phone, e-mail, and snail mail. If you need a vacation, a few days of R&R, or just feel like driving into the mountains, mi casa es su casa, "my house is your house" ... actually OUR house is your house!! You are always invited to come and visit. Just let us know and we'll leave the light on for you!

We reach out the best we can with what our lives and time provide. If you want to talk to us and we haven't called you, you are welcome to call us! If the cell tower is in a good mood, we'll even receive the transmission! We gladly open our mail when it's a letter or card from a friend or family! And we always read our e-mails (except for forwards which we delete before opening as our computer has had too many mishaps with them!). Please feel free to initiate the contact!!

Meanwhile .... happy trails to all and take good care!

Paul & Cheri