Let's move!

It's a fixer-upper of course. . . . . . . . and someone with deep pockets will

 hopefully come along and turn this country house into a home once again.

It's actually on the main street of a small North Carolina town, surrounded by

smart, well cared for homes. It's sad to see this one unloved.

Driving back from the coast on Sunday afternoon was lovely - everywhere 

green and fresh after heavy rains. The fields were plowed, bright green

 cornstalks were already about a foot high.

******************

Speaking of heavy rains - we were hit by such an intense electrical storm

last evening that serious flash flooding occurred in Raleigh. Here in the 

garden we've got a lot of clean up awaiting when it dries up - especially 

re-spreading all those cypress wood chips we spent an entire weekend

of back breaking work on in such hot weather!  Some have even ended

up in the street after being washed down the driveway in the river of water -

it was quite frightening.

Bob is heading out now to check under the cottage for any water - we

are said to have received up to 5 inches of rain in about half an hour!

Our fear now is although today is lovely, dry and sunny, more storms and

 rain are in the forecast for this week.

Prayers for Florida. . . . . . . . . .

We watch the news, we check with friends here who have family and

 friends there. . . . . .sadly not everyone was able to 'escape' and move

 to safer places. Hurricane Irma is so huge she will impact just about the

 entire state of Florida today, tonight, and into tomorrow.

Irma continues her path, ravaging the Florida Keys this morning and now

heading toward the heavily populated west coast of the beautiful 'sunshine state.'

We really have no idea as to how devastating the property damage might

 be, but we sincerely hope there will be no loss of life.

Florida, you are in our prayers today.

Photos of calmer ocean moments taken on other shores during my travels.

A Look At Life III. . . . . . . . . .

Peaceful moments in England, Ireland, France and North Carolina - 2016

Hope you are enjoying your weekend wherever you are.

Getting away from it all. . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . and what could be better than a road trip, a mystery trip!

Pack a bag for a couple of nights, secure the cottage, jump in the car and

head west (or east, even south or north), and discover new places one

has missed before. No time constraints, no deadlines, no reservations, just an old

fashioned road trip. . . . . . . drive on, stop when you want to admire a view, watch

a waterfall tumble from high above, listen to a mountain stream make music

 trickling over its rocky granite bed as a whistling hawk circles overhead.

Spectacular places within a day's driving distance of home, even more beautiful
 than expected. June weather was perfect, cooler in the western part of the state
 than here. Warm, sunny, with amazing cloud formations and just two light five
 minute showers to rinse and freshen the greenery. . . . . . . . . and native
 rhododendrons bursting into bloom along the mountain roads then nosediving
 en masse to the valley floors far below.

Bridal Veil Falls, Nantahala National Forest, Highlands, North Carolina

A road trip can take you to places you will never see up close any other way.

There are 100 counties in North Carolina and we have now visited every one.

We drove almost 900 miles over the weekend. . . . . . .it was really lovely viewing 

our beautiful state dressed for Spring.

How do you feel about getting out on the open road?  

Do you enjoy 'getting away from it all' and seeing the countryside in your

close to home area?

A road trip - away, but not for long. . . . . . . .

Father's Day

***********

Bob and I will be remembering our dads today. . . . . .even though we've been

 without them for quite a while now. They were great men who helped mold us

 into the people we are today. . . . . . . . true hands on, always there for us fathers,

 who made raising their children a priority even when times were tough, and they

 often were. Strict yes, but good, down to earth, hard working, respectful to our

equally wonderful mothers, loving and caring men.

Our dads only met once when mine visited the US from England back in

 the 1970's. They hit it off immediately and enjoyed their time together.

Before leaving home this weekend I was busy doing some late Spring cleaning

around the cottage. Washing china, dusting and polishing woodwork and

 moving things around a bit. I'll share the changes with you later.

We're on an impromptu road trip for a few days - something Bob wanted to do for a while.

Taking different back roads west, visiting several North Carolina counties we've

 somehow missed over the years. . . . . . . . . . .but we'll be back soon.

. . . . . . .there's no place like it!

Asheville - Flowers and Antiques ~

When visiting Asheville, North Carolina, about 4 hours from Raleigh,
 our favorite hotel is right in town. We can leave the car in the parking lot and 
walk to many interesting places, only having to drive if visiting Biltmore Estate
 and Village, or up a hillside to the fabulous historic Grove Park Inn, where we
 can enjoy a drink on the terrace with breathtaking views across the city toward the
 Blue Ridge Mountains.

This week we looked down from our window and directly below us found 

the historic Thomas Wolfe House, home of the American novelist. I told you more

 about this home in my post in the Fall of 2014 HERE.

Along the hotel's parking lot was a really wonderful mixed border of Summer

 blooming flowers. The coneflowers, grasses, and especially the tall pink

 Joe-pye weed caught my eye. . . . . .so of course you get photos here!

Attractive to butterflies, Joe-pye weed is a great addition to a wildflower

 or natural garden. Perhaps I will be able to tuck a few plants into my own

 wildlife habitat (yes, it's overgrown and in need of a serious makeover,

 but birds, butterflies, foxes and more love it!), in the coming season. 

This is a beautiful perennial with clouds of dusky pinkish-purple blooms,

the common one growing 5-7 feet which may require staking. There are however 

shorter, named varieties which I'll be looking for. They apparently prefer moist,

 well-drained soil in sun or with a bit of shade. These at the hotel were in full sun,

and seemed to be very healthy in the 95+ temperatures we had in Asheville.

It should be cut back to the base in Winter when it gets untidy.

Anyone ever grown this eye-catching plant with the odd name?

Never leave Asheville without a visit to my favorite antiques, vintage, book shop,

 home and garden venue, the ScreenDoor. 

Didn't make a purchase this time but took a few photos of items which caught my eye.

Didn't realize that dried magnolia sprigs could look so attractive with their

 two-colored leaves. My backyard neighbor's tree drops leaves on to my

 garden - perhaps I can sneak a few sprigs before they fall - they ARE hanging

 over the fence into my space!

Such unusual and charming handmade bird houses - I really wish I had

 brought one of these home with me. . . . . . . . 

. . . . . . .and I loved these illustrations with just one word. Kicking myself that

 I didn't buy one - but couldn't decide between RETURN or RESPOND.

 With such hot weather I think RETURN had the most cooling effect, but I love

RESPOND with the laundry drying in the fresh air too! 

Back to the Blue Ridge. . . . . . .

We've just enjoyed a short but sweet visit to western North Carolina.

We met up with some old friends and made some new ones, always fun.

The Blue Ridge Mountains shimmered in the 95F summer heat -

and the sunsets were beautiful. 

These were views from our hotel window. 

Driving home yesterday, the sun was bright , temperatures soaring into

 the nineties yet again. Leaving the higher mountains, the rolling hills were

 many shades of green, and the 'Carolina Blue' sky filled with puffy clouds,  

making the drive so enjoyable. We stopped for ice cream at the half way mark.

Arriving back in Raleigh the heat index was 108F! I quickly ran from the car 

into the cottage which felt wonderfully cool.

As I always say, there's no place like home!  

SuzAnna's Antiques in February . . . . . . . . . . .

Hello. It's been a while since I stopped by SuzAnna's Antiques 

 but I was there this week, giving my granddaughter Jasmin a hug in between

 her assisting and serving customers, and also busy dusting ready for a

photoshoot for the North Carolina magazine 'OUR STATE' on the

following day. The article will be in an upcoming edition and I just know

mom and daughter owners, Susie and Jenny, must be excited. 

We have a subscription to this excellent publication and look forward 

to seeing our good friends in print.

Winter has a way of keeping me snug at home just looking at my own 

old stuff vintage treasures, repositioning, organizing, setting up in vignettes,

and then thinking I should get rid of stuff. . . . . . so I can treasure hunt for 

more new old things, haha!

You who love the treasure hunting game know what I mean.

Here are a few things few caught my eye. 

Hopefully Springtime will get me in the mood for some treasure hunting and new places.

As you've probably noticed, not much travel has been happening lately, 

however we hope to be doing some in the upcoming months.

. . . . . and a little REMINDER to myself. . . . . .before traveling again, I must write posts
 on several more fabulous places I visited in France last September/October.