So things have been hectic, hence nothing new since...Sept. 9th. Wow, school started Sept. 9 and then I never blogged again- sigh. But here are some things not to be missed. First, Sparks' Giving Thanks. And above, our Festivus. Besides making it home at the end of the day to collapse, I love turning on the mantle.
We visited the Asheville Farmers Market which are like two giant open air pavilions chock full of tomatoes, corn, beans, grits, honey, jam, cantaloupe and peaches...and everything else. We didn't need peaches though, because Mr.'s mom received a giant basket from a friend. So the entire trip we were racking our brains for ways to dispose of them. Below are peach handpies and homemade peach ice cream.
My in-laws needed a little color to perk up their yard, so we also put in some begonias to keep this gnome company.
Here was my final attempt to eat peaches (after making peach salsa and two servings of peach sauce for pancakes and vanilla ice cream respectively): Peach and Blackberry Galette.
This entire trip, my eyes are closed in all the pictures! Here I am under Jump Off Rock.
Here is Thomas Wolfe's famous angel from his novel "Look Homeward, Angel". This novel was highly autobiographical and set in his hometown of Asheville. Needless to say, I bought the book, but haven't started it.
I totally want one of these bears...Below is Dolly Dairy Bar near Brevard. OhhhhMmmmmGgggg! Really dreamy place with ice cream cones and rocking chairs on the porch. Afterwards we drove through Pisgah Forest and on the Blue Ridge Parkway. I did take a few shots of that, but they don't do justice to the beauty of it all.
Here is Mr. with his parents in downtown Hendersonville, which is very charming.
They have lots of outdoor cafes, where D. joined us for crepes.
D. ordered her parents a mini wedding cake and we gave them gold handles cake servers. So they followed tradition and cut the cake and fed each other. They were very civilized and did not mash each other with it.
Here is the original family unit.
I also wanted to be sure and include pics of Mr.'s older brother, D. and his family, K. and E.
We went to NC to celebrate Mr.'s parents' 50th wedding anniversary. It was really cool. The day after we arrived, Friday, was the actual anniversary and there was a special dinner planned for Saturday.
It worked out well, because that allowed time for Mr.'s father, A. to take his wife for an intimate dinner and give her this magnificent anniversary band. He also sent her an enormous flower arrangement at the beauty shop. Take note gentlemen, this is a highly recommended move.
Vroom vroom! Here is the vehicle that we drove to NC. Mr. had to keep his speed under control at all times in this ticket magnet. This ice cream truck was parked near a gas station somewhere in PA.
While in NC we went to Winston-Salem, where Mr. got his undergrad from the North Carolina School of the Arts. To prove it to you, he has a brick- check it out.
We also went to the Moravian village of Old Salem, which was totally my dorky historian kind of thing. Plus they sell special Moravian cookies. The village has people who live and work there making things and describing the hand-made goods. Many of them were closed that day and had this sign "Closed today, Open tomorrow". Very straightforward and effective.
We also checked out the gardens at the Reynolda House, which was lovely, but extremely hot. Something that we didn't get a pic of was Sampan, where we went back in time. This was Mr.'s favorite Chinese restaurant and it hadn't changed one bit in the 11 years since he had left. Very tasty.
This is a phenomenon that involved the sun setting at a point on the horizon that causes the sunset to send a golden blaze down every cross street in Manhattan. Neil deGrasse Tyson is so much better at describing why, plus he is a totally groovy guy:
"I love Manhattenhenge and cherries and blueberries and greek yogurt..."
