Chillin'

Surrogate Cat Sandy........Just Chillin'

Just One More (Xmas 07)

6:30am.......I had placed a bet on 5:30am but Lex surprised me and "slept in" until 6:30....She still beat the Sun up and Santa had probably just wheeled his sleigh into the North Pole garage, but we still got some good sleep. Lex got downstairs, looked at the Santa horde and sat back down on the sofa to let it all sink in. At 3 1/2 years she's kinda mesmorized by the whole Santa process and a bit taken aback by it at the same time. Lexie scored a sweet wooden dollhouse that will be with her for many years of use as well as a "Radio Flyer" trike which is classic red & white and mighty classy! Both sets of G'Parents were in attendance for the event and many other gifts were opened....with Lexie stating between each package "I'm still really not hungry mommy!"...."Just one more".

That sums up Christmas ------- Just one more.

Looking forward to Santa's mighty return in 08

Going Under (Pinky Part Deux)

I had surgery on my pinky (see previous post) on Wednesday Dec 19th and it was my first opportunity to "go under". I've never had the pleasure of missing set moments of my life by a thoughtful choice (pause for the cough....ehem). Anyway last thing I remember was the OR and sliding my fanny over to the operating table then....PWOIP I'm drinking a Sprite in the recovery room.....Amazing.

So far the recovery has been tolerable apart from the nagging itching from the cast that ran down to my elbow. I've only had to pop the narcotics now and then mainly for ease of sleep.

I have come to find out over the course of these past few days that your pinky, an often overlooked digit in life, is actually very useful in the whole hand scheme of things.

Santa

On Saturday we went to the Asheville Track Club's Holiday Party. There was great food, beer and wine, an excellent band AND.... Santa Claus! Lexie was so excited, she got to dance with Santa and later, sat on his lap and told him she wanted "a Darby doll" and "a dollhouse." So Cute! Immediately after that party we stopped by the Asheville High School Science Department party at a teacher's home. This party was a bit more subdued but a nice way to end the evening. Unfortunately, there were no celebrity sitings (last year, one of the science teachers was dating Hollywood actress/model Andie McDowell and she actually came to the party!)

Broken Pinky

I suffered my third serious injury playing Ultimate this weekend when he went to block a throw. The thrower released the disc and in his follow-through got my finger and bent it away from the hand. At first I thought it was dislocated as my pinky was bent awkwardly out from the hand...so I had someone pop it back in, taped it up and finished playing the game. We lost so were done playing. That night the finger swelled to twice its size and turned whitish-purple. Pam suggested I get it looked at so today after church I went to the "Sister's of Mercy" Urgent Care center. After the X-ray I overheard a few docs oohing and aahing over my broken finger. I guess after numerous sick people...something broken on an x-ray is exciting (kinda like a traffic chase for the cops!) I overheard "..that's messed up pretty bad..." Anyway as you can see by the photo - double compound fracture and a trip to the hand specialist!!

So tallying it up over 17 years of Ultimate: 1 broken collar-bone, 1 separated shoulder, 1 broken pinky finger.....not too bad I'd say

Jim

Singing a Solo

On December 12 Lexie's pre-school class at West Asheville Baptist Church had it's Christmas Program where the 3-4 year olds rang bells and sang several songs at the Wednesday night service. Lexie was chosen to sing a solo! She stood in front, with the microphone and did it perfectly! In-tune and on key, too! (yes, we are PROUD parents!) She sang a song about the star of David called: Twinkle, Twinkle. It was such a joy to hear the children singing songs about Christ's coming and Christmas time, and for Lexie to do a solo!

Biltmore

Pam and I decided to give each other a unique gift this Christmas in the form of a Biltmore "membership". Yes, you can actually join the tourist mecca that is the Biltmore Estate!!
While many would automatically think that the house could only be interesting once or twice (they would be right by the way), the Estate has so much more to offer the more than casual visitor. Locals can join with a one year pass and have access to hiking trails, concerts, the winery, a farm and the house. While other visitors are forking out the $59.00 a pop to enter the estate, members can ride in free any day and have a picnic on the lawn, check out the new seasonal gardens or stroll the countless acres.

Pam scored a deal through AAA to get our initial tickets for $34.00 a piece (they are going for $59.00 right now during the holidays) and with a $20.00 upgrade we got full membership.....not a bad deal for unlimited access to what is one of the local treasures.

On Veteran's day we dropped Lexie off at school and went to check out the estate. We took a self-guided tour of the house, hit the winery for a tasting and took a long hike around the country-side.

Halloween

The Sunday prior to Halloween we held our annual Halloween block party, complete with costume awards, movies and good eating. We had about 5 or 6 families show along with 12-14 kids of various ages. "Jim Bob" the redneck cooked hot dogs and the "Wicked Witch" (Pam)organized prizes and did the pre-party fliers.

On Halloween the "Sharp-Toothed Dinosaur" (Lexie) made an appearance on our street as we visited neighbors to Trick-or-Treat. Lexie came back with a boat-load of candy and even a stuffed Scooby-doo halloween toy!!

"Colonel Sanders" (Jim) recycled his costume for the 4th or 5th year and went to play an Ultimate pick-up game in costume. On the way to the fields the Colonel swung by the local KFC to "check on business" and score a bucket of chicken for the costume. The Drive-Thru clerk took a picture of the colonel on his cell-phone because he thought it was so cool! The good colonel scored a 2nd place finish in the costume contest! (This after winning three parties in prior years).

We are already looking forward to NEXT Halloween.

Yurtin'

Last weekend, Pam and I traveled for an overnight trip to the Nantahala River Gorge area SE of Bryson City for a night away from Lexie for a belated 9th Anniversary celebration. We originally thought of either staying at a bed-n-breakfast or camping but instead I found an Adventure Camp called "Falling Waters" run by Whitewater Rafting Company that had a "Yurt Village". If you have never heard of a Yurt, it is a circular Mongolian tent that is built onto a wooden platform. The yurt we stayed in had a mini-fridge, heater and four-poster bed! On the premises was a hot tub and clean bathrooms and showers. So we kinda ended up in the middle of the hotel-camping experience. The Yurt was very nice so I highly recommend it to any looking to stay in the Outdoors mecca that is Nantahala. We will probably go back to enjoy some white-water rafting, horse-back riding and train-riding through the Smokies.

Pam and I took a hike to a finger at the Eastern end of Lake Fontana and were amazed by how low the lake was! We are in a drought in N.C. (about 11 inches below normal) and I swear the Lake was down 15-25 feet. So much so that we ended up hiking in the lake-bed and found old coke bottles and other interesting lake-bottom things like fish-bones.

Lexie had a nice stay with her Mima and Papa (Jim's parents).

Pumpkin Patch

This weekend the family took a trip to Hickory Nut Gap Farm where we gathered our halloween decor-- pumpkins for jack-o-lanterns.

First, though, we visited the horse and pigs. Then we walked across the creek to the corn maze, where we didn't get off track or lost once. Lexie enjoyed the "toddler maze" too. The only down side--75 degree weather is too sweaty for October!

When we were all done, we picked out 3 pumpkins in the "pumpkin patch," washed them in the creek, and brought them home. Oh, and don't forget, a half peck of locally grown Rome apples-- crunchy and sweet!

House On Our Street Burns

We got home from work on Monday and found TV crews, fire investigators and the skeleton of a smoking burnt down house at the top of our street. It was the home at 5 Grove Garden, that was built directly behind another home.
Our neighbors said they heard a huge explosion at around noon and the house was fully engulfed. No one knew much about the man who lived there, Eddie Williams, 46. He was air-lifted to the burn center in Winston Salem and later died. All of us are shocked and dismayed, it was a very sad day. It was actually a TV camera guy who helped pull the man out and away from the home.
Now there's a black skeleton of a home left. Several nearby homes had their siding melt because the fire was so hot. Some of us worry it may have been drugs or a meth lab that exploded, but we really have no idea. Fire investigators today had a dog sniffing around and think there may be evidence of arson. The explosion and burning happened so quickly, there seems to be little to no evidence left. (Photo from www.WLOS.com)

Asheville Citizen-Times story on burning home and Photo Gallery

Tennessee Smokies

Over the weekend of September 29th-30th the family went camping in the Great Smoky Mountains. Jim took the day off of work on Friday and we headed out about 2:00pm on our way to the Big Creek campground. Big Creek is in North Carolina but only has 12 sites which require a 100-300 ft hike from the parking lot. When we got to Big Creek it was full so we drove through the park into Tennesse and landed at the large Cosby Campground.

Cosby is a very cool campground set back in the woods from the main road. It has a large parking area for picnickers and another large parking area for hikers. There are many hikes from the park and you can reach the AT with a decent day hike. The larger parking areas were nice because we decided to bring the bikes (Lexie rides in a seat on the back of Jim's bike). There were plenty of sites at Cosby and we got our pick of a few good ones.

We setup camp and relaxed Friday night. On Saturday we got up early and cooked a pancake breakfast then we biked around the campground. After a rest (pulling an extra 30 lbs on the bike was a workout!) we decided to hike to Henwallow Falls and have lunch. Henwallow is a 2.2 mile trail one-way to some scenic falls, however with the lack of rain the trail should have been renamed "Henwallow Trickle". We brought the kid backpack and Pam and Jim swapped Lexie on the way up. Lexie enjoyed the ride and even caught a nap on the hike while Pam and Jim ached their way up the moderate slope toting the extra weight. We got to the "falls" and enjoyed our lunch and some views and then hiked back down. Lexie decided to try the hiking business out but managed to face-plant after tripping on some roots and it was back in the pack for her. All-in-all it was a fun hike and quite a workout!!

At night we setup a nice fire and had smores...Lexie even got some in her hair. On Sunday we cooked a large breakfast to clean out our cooler and drove home via Gatlinburg, Tennessee. If you have not been to Gatlinburg it can be described in one word - CHEESY....no make that two words - CLAUSTROPHOBIC and CHEESY! We stayed long enough to get lunch at a restaurant, have Jim buy a cool leather hat and for Lexie to ride a few rides and play a few games, then we hit the road. Good riddance if you ask me, you only need to see a place like Gatlinburg once.

(Pictures to come)

Craggy Gardens

This Saturday we ventured out to Craggy Gardens on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The original plan was to camp over the weekend in the Smokies but due to massive rain on Friday afternoon/evening, we bagged the camping trip and settled for a day-trip instead.

There are only so many days that come along in life that could be described as PERFECT and I'd have to say that this was one of them. We lazed around during the morning finally putting together a breakfast of pancakes, eggs and bacon from the food we planned on cooking while camping. Then we threw some light snacks of fruit and hummus into a cooler along with a few "after-hike" brews and headed out.

One of the pros of living in Asheville is the proximity of the Parkway. We can be on it in 5 minutes, and after a 30 minute drive North we are in the parking/picnicking area of Craggy Gardens. Craggy is a neat area with stone picnic tables and grills settled in an area of buckeye trees near the top of a bald (crag). There is a mild 0.8 mile hike upward to the top. At the top there is a shelter, overlook and endless clumps of Rhodadendron. The Rhoddies were not in bloom due to an early season frost, but we found plenty of blueberry bushes and picked a bag-full of sweet mini-berries!!

Temperatures made the day top-notch as well. 70 degree weather with mountain breezes up on the Parkway that required a light, long-sleeved sweatshirt. Perfect "fall" weather! I (Jim) hiked to the top by myself as Lexie and Pam rested in the sun for a bit. I then came back down and carted Lexie most of the way up on my shoulders while Pam trailed us. We go to the top, picked blueberries, took pictures and enjoyed the views!! Splendid!!

After we came down we snacked, enjoyed our brews (Lexie had apple-juice)and proceeded to find out just how much fun rolling downhill in the grass could be. Lexie had a BLAST rolling with her mom and dad, making up games and running from tree to tree. We spent the better part of 5 hours up on the parkway as a family and it was PERFECT.