How I Ended Up At Coon Dog Day!

Finally I am back to writing. I chose to work my butt off in order to earn money to have for a trip to the North Carolina mountains to spend a week with my sister. Actually the work began before my last post as I left for the mountains on the 27th of June. I worked my on-line job, cleaned my mom's house, power-washed her shed, helped a friend of mine get organized to move and a few other small jobs at my mom's. For my efforts, and with a serendipitious check that arrived in the mail, I was able to have money for my trip.

It is July 5th. I took the bus from near my home on the coast of N.C. to Asheville, N.C. on the 27th of June. The idea was that my sister and I would drive back to the coast today or tomorrow. I would be home and my sister would spend a week with my mother. Well....

My visit has been interesting, to say the least, and why not, I ask myself, given the quantity of "interesting moments" littering the pathways of my days. The weather was beautiful from last Thursday afternoon through last Sunday. My sister lives on the side of a mountain and in the woods. Her house is awesome. Her property is awesome. She has the spirit of an artist and the career of a horticulturalist.
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For a couple of days she worked and I was at the house alone with the silence, the wind in the trees, sitting on the screened in porch watching birds feed at her feeders. The best part was watching a mother and father bluebird bring food to their babies nestled in one of my sister's bird houses. Her place is a retreat for me. On Sunday we went for a ride ending up at Chimney Rock. We paid, took the elevator to the top and climbed the steps to Chimney Rock where we had an amazing view of Lake Lure and the surrounding communities. Great time!

Monday the rains came to town. Really! Lots and lots of rain. Sitting at the house and listening to the rain fall through the trees with a cool wind blowing was magical. But the rain kept coming. It is Friday. I have been here 8 days. It rained Mon., Tues, Wed. and Thurs. I don't mind at all but my sister, who has her own landscaping business, has lost hours of work time at the peak growing time of the season.

Oh, I forgot to mention, the first night I was here my son called to tell me his fiance had cut her writsts and taken a bunch of pills. He was at work and could not leave so I ended up calling 911 for an emergency almost 400 miles away. I don't have to tell anyone that I was stressed to the max. Things worked out and maybe for what will be the best in the long run but it was a hell of a first night in the mountains.

Back to the part of us leaving tomorrow. Ain't happening! Today my sister's work truck was leaking fuel. Remember that I said she lives in the mountains and in the woods. Varmints had nibbled all through her fuel line. Official Ford mechanic quote: $1000. Shock! Gasp! Not good news. We picked up her other vehicle, the one we were taking to the coast, and my sister mentioned the brakes felt weird. I said that I had to push down on them hard to come to a true stop when I drove the vehicle so we decided we had better take that vehicle to the Ford place and let a mechanic drive it to check the brakes. Yep! You guessed it! The front wheel brakes are shot. Official Ford mechanic quote: $700. And, as if that is not enough, the vehicle will not be ready to take to the coast until Monday...afternoon. But it did stop raining today. And the power that was off at the house due to a storm did come back on today.

That's about it...so far. By the clock it is now Saturday. We won't be traveling 400 miles but I think we may travel about 10 miles to go to Coon Dog Day.  It ain't all bad now is it my friends?

 

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY 2013 FROM CHIMNEY ROCK N.C.