Though we had use of the Banner Elk condo all week, we were not yet up to returning on Monday, having just gotten home, so we cooled it for a couple of days. I dragged out the lawn mower to give the lawn its third trim and jerked out the rope on about the second pull. It also had been having some other problems and since I was not going to be able to repair it before we went to the condo, and would need it immediately upon return, I decided to take it to get someone else to repair it. I did, they did and I can boast having paid less to get it repaired than a new one would cost. Cary chain and saw or whatever does good work, but their charging skills are even more finely tuned.
We finally got up to SugarTop on Thursday and got settled. We did quite a bit of washing of stuff, ate at Bella's in Banner Elk (A Calzone from there covers a WHOLE plate - makes two meals for me!). Our friends from Hawaii (1966) had agreed to come up for a few days and they got there on Friday about noon. We ate in Boone and went to the outlet shops in Blowing Rock (321 from Blowing Rock to Hickory is mostly open but a mess they say - they blast frequently and post signs a day or two before they close the road for a couple of hours. We did not try it, but it will likely be a great improvement. We had a lot of cool, cold and foggy weather over this and previous week, but also days that could not have been better. The Caldwells left us on Sunday PM and went back to Roseboro (recently moved there from Fredricksburgh, VA). We enjoyed their company and catching up on things (they came to my retirement). The parking lot is generally full of Florida cars in the summer, but there were only a few there just yet. They have their Spring swarm soon! The students at App in Boone used to call them "Florons" because they drive the mountin roads at 15-20 mph.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
April 8, 2008 - Excitement of another 6 hour drive
We left Cary by mid day on April 8 and drove back to the mountains, again by way of Asheville and I-26 to Erwin, thence 107 to Tusculum and Greeneville, TN. We got up and took him to the hospital for the surgery by 7:30 on Wednesday. The lady surgeon hardly looked old enough to have become a medical (eye surgeon) doctor, but this was yet another sign that I retired because it was time! The surgery went well.
We stayed until the weekend. Joan worked cleaning and straightening her brother's "bachelor" habits and training him in the ways he should go and I stayed with my mother and bought flowers, and paint. I used the paint to spiff up the ceiling in her car port which was a bit dingy and pealing in a couple of spots. It looked much better but due to the wind and use of a roller, I got about 1782 specks of white paint on my glasses. Maybe that is why they call them specs?
Since we had the (partnership) condo at Banner Elk for the next week, starting on Monday, we went back to Cary for a couple of days to recoup and get reorganized.
We stayed until the weekend. Joan worked cleaning and straightening her brother's "bachelor" habits and training him in the ways he should go and I stayed with my mother and bought flowers, and paint. I used the paint to spiff up the ceiling in her car port which was a bit dingy and pealing in a couple of spots. It looked much better but due to the wind and use of a roller, I got about 1782 specks of white paint on my glasses. Maybe that is why they call them specs?
Since we had the (partnership) condo at Banner Elk for the next week, starting on Monday, we went back to Cary for a couple of days to recoup and get reorganized.
April 2-4 at CAPCA/Asheville
On April 2, we made our way up the mountain to Asheville to attend the CAPCA meeting. It was a beautiful drive with the red buds and other flowering trees along I-40. It seemed a lot different (I think I have been to 3 or 4 total now) going to a CAPCA meeting with my having to pay for it, but Joan loves the Grove Park Inn and the rate is so much less than normal. We got back into the Vanderbilt Wing as before, but had a much better view of the Spa which had work going on but it was much better than the AC unit view we had the last time.
Since the PM meeting was on permits and other stuff, I did not bother to go to the afternoon meeting. However, we did find that we had a "choir" practice for Thursday's performance. As it turned out the SC folks has temporarily stolen the choir robes from the booth area but later returned them as they found out that they belonged to a local church and that made them feel guilty. It was all in fun.
On Thursday, we had a designated time to put on the robes and march up to the front and go through the medley of CAPCA "gospel" tunes. They sounded pretty OK, but I confirmed once again that I can't sing and sway at the same time, especially to stay with the beat. Walking and chewing gum are also difficult for me but I can rub my belly and pat my head, after extended periods of practice. This is my last attempt at this, so I guess everyone that did not already know, now knows that I can make a fool of myself with little effort. It was fun.
While all this excitement was going on, Joan drove to Black Mountain and took an elderly friend in a retirement center there to get her out and run some errands she needed, etc. We went back by there on our way back to Cary on
Friday to dig some weeds, plant some flowers and a few other minor chores.
We had intended to go on to TN but it turned out that Joan's brother in TN needed someone to take him to the doctor to for cataract surgery. So we went back to Cary and then back to TN (~300 miles each way) on Tuesday April 8.
Since the PM meeting was on permits and other stuff, I did not bother to go to the afternoon meeting. However, we did find that we had a "choir" practice for Thursday's performance. As it turned out the SC folks has temporarily stolen the choir robes from the booth area but later returned them as they found out that they belonged to a local church and that made them feel guilty. It was all in fun.
On Thursday, we had a designated time to put on the robes and march up to the front and go through the medley of CAPCA "gospel" tunes. They sounded pretty OK, but I confirmed once again that I can't sing and sway at the same time, especially to stay with the beat. Walking and chewing gum are also difficult for me but I can rub my belly and pat my head, after extended periods of practice. This is my last attempt at this, so I guess everyone that did not already know, now knows that I can make a fool of myself with little effort. It was fun.
While all this excitement was going on, Joan drove to Black Mountain and took an elderly friend in a retirement center there to get her out and run some errands she needed, etc. We went back by there on our way back to Cary on
Friday to dig some weeds, plant some flowers and a few other minor chores.
We had intended to go on to TN but it turned out that Joan's brother in TN needed someone to take him to the doctor to for cataract surgery. So we went back to Cary and then back to TN (~300 miles each way) on Tuesday April 8.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)