I really enjoy my Saturdays with Becky as we poke around antique and junk shops. We have a big fold-out map that we carry with us to help us pick out our destinations. It's called the Sunday Driver Directory and includes advertisements and locations of dozens of places with the stuff we love to look for. Last Saturday we were in the Taylorsville area and it seemed like everywhere we went, there were items that would have been cool for camping. If half the fun is looking, then the other half would be taking pictures. Check out a few of the neat items we saw... So where will we be this Saturday? Head back here in a couple of days and find out. See ya then!
Wendy, the pups, and I headed to The Wee Cabin yesterday for one reason...to see if the leaky roof was truly fixed. Several Postcards ago, I told you about the avalanche of water I had one evening during a storm. I'm happy to report that it poured down rain last night and there wasn't a drip to be seen or heard inside. Yippee! We decided to take the long way home this morning since it was such a beautiful day in the Blue Ridge. That can mean only one thing... Hopping on the Parkway in Asheville, we made our way to Tanbark Ridge, Craggy Gardens, Crabtree Falls, and Linville. I am so blessed to live in the foothills of these breathtaking places! Thanks for dropping in to pick up your mid-week Postcard. See ya tomorrow! One week from today, Becky and I will be on the road again! There are many perks to being retired...footloose and fancy free comes to mind as being right up there at the top of the list. I suppose the biggest advantage though might be the ability to change plans or directions if need be. And that's what has occurred. We have shortened our trip considerably and have narrowed our focus and destination to Nashville and the Civil War battlefields of Fort Donelson to the northwest and Stones River to the southeast. We made this decision for a variety of personal reasons...the Schnauzer Herd and boarding issues, missing Leisuretimers at church (I'm the chair of that group), and having an opportunity to visit with T@Bbers Larry and Dana week after next. So we'll be able to "do" Nashville like a tourist should and take a couple battlefield side trips too. We're excited about going someplace new, plus that will give you a brand new set of Postcards to pick up! Woohoo...time to hit the road again!
My little corner of the world has been in the news quite a bit lately.
In early May, North Carolina passed Amendment One. Two Sunday's ago, a pastor in a nearby Baptist pulpit made remarks that shocked and sickened many of us here and around the country. This past week, CNN's Anderson Cooper interviewed a parishioner from that same church who further spread the hate and ignorance that seems to be so widespread these days. Yesterday for about two hours, I stood with over 1,000 people at our Justice Center here in Newton, in a peaceful protest. The diversity of the crowd was heartwarming and affirming. We stood in unison with a singular message...STOP THE HATE! In July of 1970, an estimated 200,000 young people descended upon a little community tucked into a remote section of Iredell County in the Brushy Mountains of North Carolina. The Love Valley Rock Festival was our scaled down version of Woodstock. The line-up of bands didn't rival the big NY festival, but if you were into Southern rock, you were in heaven. The headliner was The Allman Brothers Band. Although I didn't attend the rock festival, I have been to Love Valley a couple of times and it is one of the most unique places in North Carolina you'll ever visit. 1954 marked the fulfillment of a dream for Love Valley founder Andy Barker. Andy had two visions as a young man...he wanted to build a Christian community and he wanted to be a cowboy. The result of this vision was Andy Barker's utopian experiment. Modeled after old-west towns seen in countless Hollywood movies, Love Valley boasts a saloon, general store, hitching posts, country store, campgrounds, rooms for rent, hardware store, blacksmith, rodeos, and Presbyterian church overlooking it all. Instead of cars, you'll see horses...horses everywhere! Love Valley's population numbers about 100, but on the weekends, it swells with cowboys and cowgirls on all those horses I mentioned. When I told Becky at lunch yesterday that we were going to Love Valley, she had no idea what to expect. I gave her a basic description, told her that cars were not allowed, that we would probably stick out like a sore thumb in our shorts and t-shirts, and to get ready for quite the experience. I'll let my photos tell you the rest of the story...click on the picture if you need a larger view and have fun! Sometimes the stars seem to be in alignment...sometimes karma strikes...sometimes a person is in the right place at the right time. You can call it anything you want to, but when it happens, it makes you smile and feel really good inside. That's what happened to me today while out on my Saturday junket with Becky. We hit three antique shops in Taylorsville and at the last one, Becky's stomach let out a big ole growl and we both knew it was time for lunch. We asked the owner if there was a good place to eat nearby and she said the only place to eat in the direction we were headed was a new grill in a former gas station. So that's where we headed...Jean's Store & Grill at the one and only intersection in Hiddenite. As we pulled in to park, we noticed a little old lady standing at a pay phone. Becky made the comment that you just don't see many pay phones any more. As I got out of the car, I saw that she was elderly and she was dropping coin after coin into the slot. Just as I was locking the car, she turned towards me and asked if I had a cell phone. I told her I did and asked if she needed to use it. She rattled off a number from memory and I handed the phone to her. She talked to a fellow that had a tow truck and told him that her son was stranded down the road at the bank and asked if could come tow his car. Apparently the fellow said yes, because she said she and Floyd (who was sitting in the truck) would meet him directly. Then she handed the phone back to me and held out a hand full of change to pay me. When I laughed and told her that she didn't need to pay me, the smile on her face was priceless. She said her name was Flora and she hugged me and kissed me on the check while thanking me profusely. Her chin was quivering a bit like my grandmother's used to do and she had that soft porcelain skin like Mom had too. Again she tried to pay me with her phone change, but I wouldn't take it and said that we're supposed to help others. She blessed my heart, hugged me again, and she and Floyd drove off to meet the tow truck. Becky missed this whole exchange because she had walked on inside. Well, I thought she was inside, but when I came around the corner, I saw her talking to a bunch of cyclists...one in particular who I immediately recognized as a good friend from church...Josh Ervin. He and his buddies were out on a 50+ mile ride today in the Brushy Mountain area. He laughingly asked if he could have a ride home. They were only a few miles away from where their cars were parked, so they actually were almost finished with their outing. Inside we found a nice little grill with a pretty good menu. I got my favorite, a BLT and Becky got her favorite, a hot dog. Rounded out with a bag of Cheetos and a cold drink, we had a great lunch! What were the odds of being in the right place at the right time that someone needed me? What were the odds that we would find our friend Josh sitting on a bench taking a break from the road? What were the odds of finding a good lunch in the middle of nowhere? And all three happening at the same time and same place about 30 miles from home?? I love it and am still smiling!! I hope your day is full of blessings and karma and smiles too! Chat with you tomorrow kiddos!! One of my favorite songs is by Canned Heat..."Going Up The Country". I don't know about going "up" the country, but today Wendy and I went "out" in the country. Sunny skies, cool temperatures, and low humidity just begged us to head out in the country for a drive today. We spent most of the day in Lincoln County, our next door neighbor to the south. Wendy had never been to any of my favorite country/primitive haunts and was game for a trip there. It was a great day for a country cruise and we were off by 11:00 a.m. First stop...NanBrook Farm...lots of quilts, enamelware, country furniture & lighting, rusty junk, and garden items. Like this stuff... Our only purchase was four potholders to replace the ancient ones that I made several decades ago...stained, burned and quite nasty, it was time to let them go and have some decent ones! Growling stomachs announced it was lunch time, so we headed into downtown Lincolnton for lunch at the Court Street Grill. We sat by the window, people watching, as we ate BLT's...oooooh they were good! Back out in the country, we made our way to Splinters and Rags, another country store in an old service station. Wendy bought an old strainer and I got a little lampshade for The Coffee Cup. I think we were probably the only customers that had been there all day! We made a stop to photograph some creek lilies by the side of the road. Every time we see them, in unison, we repeat what Becky always says, "There are those stinkin' creek lilies!" That always makes me laugh. One last stop at a produce stand near home for some fresh, local strawberries and we were back home around 3:30 from our day "up the country". I hope you have had an equally great day. Thanks for dropping by for your Thursday Postcard! With our upcoming trip and next big adventure happening the first of June, Becky and I are getting extra excited about certain places we'll visit...one being Graceland in Memphis. Yep, you read that right. Graceland...Elvis...The Big E! When we were little and would visit our Grandmother Ritchie in Landis, one of our favorite things to do was hop on the bus with her to Kannapolis and take in the latest Elvis movie at the Gem Theater. Since Elvis was making films on a regular basis in the 1960's and Mom Ritchie loved him, we always looked forward to this Saturday morning treat. I have always liked Elvis. Becky, on the other hand, has always LOVED him. We've seen his birthplace in Tupelo, so Graceland is the next logical place to visit. In honor of that upcoming visit, here are a few facts about Elvis for the 23rd day of May, a quote from Johnny Carson about the King, and some actual Graceland postcards. May 23, 1961 - Filming was completed for the Elvis Presley film "Blue Hawaii May 23, 1962 - The Elvis Presley movie "Follow That Dream" opened May 23, 1964 - The Elvis Presley single "Kiss Me Quick" was released in the U.S. May 23, 1970 - The Elvis Presley album "Let's Be Friends" hit #105 in the U.S. "If life was fair, Elvis would be alive and all the impersonators would be dead." - Johnny Carson If all goes as planned, you can pick up your personalized Elvis & Graceland Postcard here on Thursday, June 7th. Have a big ole Wednesday y'all...thank ya, thank ya yerra much!
Last week I shared a Postcard with you about being waterlogged here in Newton. Thursday night while at The Wee Cabin, we had a storm around 11:30 just as I was about to go to bed and I heard drip, drip.....drip, drip, drip, drip.....DRIP, DRIP, DRIP, DRIP! Oh no! The roof was leaking!! It was a steady drip from the top of the door jamb leading into the hallway. I grabbed pots, trashcans, buckets, trying to position them to catch the water. I even pulled out my wallpaper tray! Three trashcans, one turkey roaster, a big pot, my wallpaper tray, and a plastic bucket catching most of the water...whew! The rain subsided and Murphy and I headed off to bed after midnight. But guess what? Storm number two hit about 1:45 a.m. and the waterfall began again. This time it was so heavy that water was running down the wall and I had to pull out towels. If you enlarge the next photo, you can see the actual drips falling down. Was that the end? Oh no, no, no, no, no! Around 2:30, the last wave of heavy rain moved in. Since I had every available item squeezed in the doorway, Murphy and I stayed in bed hoping for the best...there was nothing left to do but try to go back to sleep.
A phone call to my roofing fellow, William Jones, first thing Friday morning got the ball rolling. He wasn't able to come to the cabin until yesterday, but that worked out well since there was no rain forecast for the weekend. Wendy and I drove back up to Black Mountain to meet him at noon. I was embarrassed to tell him that no one (especially me) had been up on that roof since he had installed new shingles in February of 2004! Judging by the amount of junk he raked out of the valleys and swept off the entire surface, it's no wonder it leaked! William said that the huge piles of debris in the valleys were acting like snow and wicking the water up underneath the shingles. He was confident that this was causing the problem and now we'll just wait until the next big rain to prove his theory. I left the buckets in place...LOL, and will probably head back up the mountain at the end of the week to check on things! So thanks for stopping by this morning to pick up your Tuesday Postcard. Have a great day...a dry, dripless day y'all!! Greetings everyone...I hope you had a fine weekend! Mine was interesting with a quite a few stories I could tell you. But I'll save those and tell you about a quick junkin' trip Becky and I took yesterday afternoon. There's a little one-stoplight-town about 10 minutes from here called Maiden. Their claim to fame is an outstanding high school football program that has won numerous state titles. They also have an antique store that has recently relocated from the outskirts of town to an old department store downtown. I dropped in during their grand opening several months ago, but Bec hadn't been here yet, so we stopped. I personally don't think the store has the personality of the old one, but that's beside the point. I didn't buy anything, however, I did snap a few pictures of items I found interesting. Take a look... Scary jug face pottery, 50's formica table & chairs, kitchen items, baby dolls, chalkware, and much more to look at and photograph...it was fun. And as always, an inviting OPEN sign out front that gets my attention immediately! I'll chat with you tomorrow folks, thanks for stopping by to get your Monday Postcard! |
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