Remember me? We've been traveling!

 

It sure felt great to load the Jeep and travel to the mountains of North Carolina.

And we had lots of fun on the way!

A trip through Georgia deserves a stop at the Piggly Wiggly!

It's a Southern thing! Taking a detour because of a train on the tracks is common too! 

And we saw fields of sunflowers in full bloom.

Doesn't hurt to stop for a few photos, does it?

It was nice to have the cooler temps in the mountains and lower humidity!

And then there are the Blue Ridge Mountains!

We never get tired of seeing those!

Lots of photos to share and I can't wait to start visitin' again! Can you believe I didn't even take my computer on this trip? (I took an IPAD but didn't spend much time on it!)

What have I missed? What's new with you? Tell me in the comments what's happening where you live! I'm anxious to hear from all of my blog buddies!

Enjoy your day! I love the mountains but I'm also thankful to be back in Florida!

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays and

I like Thursdays HERE too!

Indian Summer in the Mts!

We were too early for the Fall colors in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

But there were still lots of flowers blooming at Fletcher Park!

Do you see the little loops in this flower?

And on this particular afternoon, some beautiful clouds!

There’s a path we call Sycamore Lane.

It is lined with huge Sycamore trees and you can tell how big this leaf is next to my size 7 Montrail hiking shoe!

I kept seeing pretty leaves and when I put them altogether in a mosaic it does indeed look like Fall!

The bittersweet even had a few red berries!

I’m very happy to be back in blogland…

and joining Mosaic Monday HERE.

Finally! Let’s take a Hike!

After being in NC for almost a month, I finally got to take a few hikes! We worked so hard to help a family member with a move that we didn’t have the energy to walk. (we climbed the stairs dozens of times though so that kept us in shape! lol)

My beloved Fletcher Park is always my favorite destination.

And it never disappoints!

The weather was fabulous! Usually around 80 degrees with a nice cool breeze.

I saw this Starling up high at the ball field.

And this frog down by the pond.

Of course seeing this little boy riding his bike was fun too.

I remember trying to keep up with my  4 sons when they were little.

Parks are a great place to make some memories.

And the views here at Fletcher Park are amazing!

Those mountains are ‘smokin’!

Have you had a chance to get outside this week?

I’m joining Saturday’s critters HERE

and I’d Rather B Birdin’.

Orange Sherbert Mts!

I hope the colors show up in this post.

The sunset was orange sherbert.

Or using the ‘correct’ spelling…..

orange sherbet!

We’ve loved going out on the balcony every evening to watch the sunset over the Blue Ridge mountains.

And most of the time, we’ve taken a little walk to get a panoramic view!

I’ll be back in Florida this week, and ready to BLOG!

And I’m very thankful for that!

So what’s new with all of my blog buddies?

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays.

Thankful Thursday

Even here in the mountains of NC we are preparing for the hurricane. We expect to get rain and wind so we need to plan on a few days inside, and it’s time to make sure we have extra food and supplies. When we were out and about today we saw lots of people that have come to the mountains to wait out the storm. We are about 350 miles from the coast here in Asheville.

The mountains are beautiful at this time of year….

or any time of year!

We’re thankful to be here and pray that everyone on the coast is safe and that the damage will be minimal.

Mt. Pisgah

I know everyone is praying for those in it’s path.

Sunset photos from last night.

Are you watching the weather and keeping up with it all? We don’t have the weather channel here but we are watching the local and national news for updates in the mornings and evenings.

Here’s a map I found online to show you where Asheville is in relation to the rest of the state.

credit: wlos.com

Let me know how the weather is where you live today!

I’m joining Thankful Thursdays.

The Beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of NC

We’ve traveled North to enjoy some time in the mountains.

We had a wonderful trip and are happy to be in our condo, enjoying the cooler mountain air! (hope our weather stays nice)

Mt. Pisgah

I walk out onto the balcony to take pics every day!

Do you see the airplane?

I’ll crop it for you!

We have lots to do while we’re here so my time on the computer will be limited but I hope I can visit some. It’s relaxing to spend time in ‘blogland’ but I have limited internet.

There’s an airplane in this next shot too!

Thought I would put together a little mosaic using just one photo. I cropped it from top to bottom and then put it back together…in the wrong order! heehee! I just have to mix things up a little! Maybe it’s the high altitude!

(this is the photo at the top, all cut up and put back together!)

I’m joining Mosaic Monday HERE.

Favorite Books for this year…so far!

I’ve read some really good books lately but I’d like to highlight a couple of exceptional books in this post.

Varina by Charles Frazier

Charles Frazier doesn’t write many books. He spends a lot of time on each one and I wouldn’t miss reading any of them. Over the years I’ve bought many of them at book sales to give to friends and family.

Varina is a historical novel and instead of a review, I’ll include a quote from the book. Other quotes are found on Goodreads HERE.

“Subtract everything inessential from America and what's left? Geography and political philosophy, V says. The Declaration of Independence and Constitution. The Federalist Papers. --I'd say geography and mythology, James says. Our legends. He gives examples, talks about Columbus sailing past the edge of the world, John Smith at Jamestown and Puritans at Plymouth Rock, conquering the howling wilderness. Benjamin Franklin going from rags to riches with the help of a little slave trading, Frederick Douglass escaping to freedom, the assassination of Lincoln, annexing the West, All those stories that tell us who we are---stories of exploration, freedom, slavery, and always violence. We keep clutching those things, or at least worn-out images of them, like idols we can't quit worshipping.”
                                         Charles Frazier, Varina                                          

My favorite book by Charles Frazier is still Thirteen Moons. If you haven’t read it….find it and ENJOY!

His most famous book is Cold Mountain and I lived near Cold Mountain when I lived with my Dad in the Northern part of Madison County, NC. And many of you may remember I was honored (and excited) to meet Charles Frazier and his lovely wife a few years ago at the North Carolina Arboretum.

I was ‘beaming’ standing next to Charles Frazier!

Now onto another great book by the author, Paulette Jiles.

News of the World

I was so impressed with this book that I convinced my hubby to read it too….and he loved it!

They are both very different but both so good. One of my favorite authors, Charles Finch gave News of the World the highest rating. That convinced me!

Do you have a favorite book to mention in the comments?

I’ll make a ‘reading list’ with them and share it next week!

I did a post 7 years ago about books and included photos of the time I met Charles Frazier. But what surprised me was what else was in that post! Maggie…our very own Mosaic Monday Maggie was also mentioned! You’ll have to go HERE to find out why! heehee!

I’m joining Mosaic Monday HERE.