Well, we're definitely back. It's too stinking hot to even work in the garden. I tried. Managed to clear off another bed to get ready for the cold frame. I couldn't stop thinking about the weather in the mountains. How cool. I guess it was about 15 degrees cooler there than here. I hiked all day and didn't break a sweat. Not like this humidity around here where you sweat your ass off just standing still. A short hike to a beautiful waterfall, the cool mist rising in the primeval forest, droplets clinging to the emerald green moss and ferns that spring up everywhere. *sigh* I want to live there. Get a horse and a goat. Some chickens. I could make lap quilts and sell them to the tourists. This past vacation was our second time out there. We did all the touristy things last year like the "gem mining" and Grandfather mountain. This time was strictly hiking and enjoying the cool weather, the flora and fauna. We couldn't make a decent living there so I guess we're stuck here until the husband retires. That'll be awhile. Besides, he's set on retiring to Seattle though he's never been there. Best to ship the kidlet off to college first. She's starting 5th grade here in a bit. Her school has over 700 kids in it. The elementary school in Banner Elk, NC has 210. I don't know if I can stand 8 more years. I feel like I've been here forever. I've never lived in one place this long before. Link to Banner Elk.
Doesn't that look inviting?

Despite every muscle in my body aching and begging for a hot soak I can safely say that I have survived a week of strenuous hikes over rocks, cliffs, and vicious root systems. Blood was shed only once but I may get hit by a car on the way back to the room. You never know. knock wood. Today we ventured to Beacon Heights. Started slow with this relatively short hike.
*That bit was written last Thursday but I didn't get a chance to upload any pics until now.

Got up relatively early (for me anyway) for the continental breakfast. Looked like a bus from assisted living had beat us to it. I don't think anyone under the age of 70 is staying at this resort besides us. We snagged a couple of eclairs and headed outside. I managed to get a cup of coffee, too. On the way back to the room I grabbed an apple. You never know. We decided to go back to Crabtree Falls for a hike. We got rained out the other day. The weather today was brilliant. Not fifty yards into the trek I twisted my ankle and took a header. Bloodied up my knee and palm on the gravel path. Brushed it off with "it's merely a flesh wound" and continued on. Twisted the same ankle again but retained my footing and dignity that time. A mile later we got to the falls. Absolutely gorgeous. We found a place to sit and had lunch and watched a group of people and their dog playing in the water. Another couple was creeping down the trail as we were getting ready to leave. He looked about 80. She appeared much younger but was totally unsuited for the treacherous terrain. We found ourselves wondering how in hell they were ever going to get out of there alive. So we left because that's how we roll. The "less strenuous" 1.6 mile return loop seemed to be the best bet. It took a long time. Heart attack pending and all. I ended up twisting my left ankle as well before finally crawling to the car.
Stopped at AltaPass Apple Orchard on the way back to our room. Bought a big bag of Red Blaze apples (?) and a pound of Damson plums. Splurged on monstrous ice cream cones while watching the hive of bees sandwiched between glass. Busy as a bee has new meaning. The kidlet really hogged into her cone. Chocolate Moose Tracks all over her face. We had fun.
Finally got back to the resort...almost in one piece. Tomorrow...something easier for a change.

Ok, I soundly trounced the husband at cards. I was merciless. We switched to Scattergories and seem to be equally matched on it. That will be the pasttime for this evening while lounging on the upper balcony sipping beers and Matthew Fox wine. It may be two buck chuck, I don't know. I wish there was wifi in the room but I guess if there was a hookup the kidlet would be playing Runescape the whole week.
About the weather? The sun shone brightly all day. It's still shining at about 5:15. So much for the awful forecast. We packed lunch and hit a trail. I forgot my USB cable for the camera or else I would post a pic of the view from the top of the trail. Gorgeous! Saw lots of wild flowers, ferns, etc. We ate lunch on the summit, a wind swept barren slab of rock for the most part. Small, scraggly pine trees clung to the crevices in the rocks. I can imagine how harsh the climate is in the dead of winter.
After that we walked around a lake. 2.3 miles worth, through forest, and marshy laurel hells. We encountered a beaver colony with a series of elevated ponds. I wonder if the forest service guys pull the dams down like my dad does. They live at a 12 acre lake with all sorts of wildlife that my dad wishes to obliterate for whatever reason. My opinion: its like going to a concert and expecting it to be quiet. Anyway, it was a lovely day. I'm tired but happy. We'll have pizza for dinner, a hot shower with the Turk2000 shower head that strips off the top ten layers of skin, and then a relaxing read....Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz. I wish this place still had their hot tub. That would feel good right about now. More tomorrow if I survive it.

are coming to a close. Thank Goodness. I managed to throw a few seeds into the ground before we left for vacation. The cabbage and zucchini sprouted as soon as they hit the dirt it seems. I'm in the pool house of the Blue Ridge Villages Resort in Banner Elk, NC. The kidlet is swimming in the heated pool below my window. She has it all to herself. It looks like the husband is playing some kind of solitaire and sipping one of my beers. How evil. We struck out fairly early this morning to hike to the Crabtree Falls but pea soup fog rolled in and it started to rain. It's currently about 21 degrees cooler here than at home. 69 right now. Lovely hiking weather. Except for the rain and the fog, that is. Tomorrow is calling for rain, thunder and lightning, all day and night. That's fine by me. I just love being here. We got the best room ever this time. Two bedrooms on two levels with lots of windows and balconies overlooking the lake. Awesome! We were only supposed to get a one bedroom but there was an opening that allowed us to upgrade. I was absolutely giddy!
Everything has been peachy except the kidlet got sick last night and hurled. But she felt much better right after and apparently has no lasting effects today. She'd be happy in the pool all week. I feel the need to hike though. We came here last year and the views were absolutely beautiful. I think I'd be happy living here if I didn't need to drive during winter. Guess I better close this up and get down to the pool. I feel the need to trounce the husband at cards.

I see him all the time. I've seen him for years now. I've watched him get grayer, his hairline receding a bit more as time passes. The lines around his eyes have grown deeper but the eyes have always been a bit sad. An ageless guilt, fresh as the day it was born, staring from somewhere deep inside. His broad shoulders are more rounded than they used to be, bent from years of some personal burden. He never had abs but his physique suits him. Anything more would be contrived.
"Let's do something", he tells me. "I'm tired of just sitting around." My indecision is crippling. I've no time to waste anymore. I've been stuck too long and each day Winston gets further away. Something cold and hard, akin to panic, starts to form in my gut.
I see him sometimes standing in the shade of the maple tree, watching me as I work in the garden. He smiles and my heart melts. He's waiting for me. I'm stealing his life but I'm terrified that I'll do something wrong, do something that will change him, so I do nothing. But he never leaves. His sighs are more frequent. Maybe he's gotten too comfortable waiting for me.
"Let's take the dog to the park," he suggests. "Or maybe we should check out the storm damage at the river." I nod. Maybe tomorrow, after I get the laundry done.

Have you ever met someone that you took an instant intense and, by all counts, unrealistic dislike for? When other people fall all over themselves for this person and it makes you feel like there is something wrong with you for having such a different impression? When you look that person in the eyes and you can tell that there's nothing there? No warmth, no empathy. Just a flat black hole. A vacuum that feeds off of nothing more than your presence and attention. It gives me the willies, for lack of a better word.

Opening up the bedroom window is like opening the oven door. Thunder is pounding the hell out of the clouds but they're not weeping yet. It was in the 100s again today. The cats have gone to ground and probably won't be out until the storm has passed. I spoke with my mom briefly and had to cut it short. She said they were getting hammered with rain. The kidlet is on her way to the holiday house with her grandmother and soon-to-be grandfather. I hate it that she goes off with them. I'm glad she gets to go swimming and all that but I'm really not comfortable with MIL's bf.

I went to the dentist today. He couldn't find anything wrong with my teeth. Doesn't know where the pain is coming from. He poked and rapped and blew air on them. Nothing. The delayed reaction was a bitch though. Must be like getting hit in the balls.

Monster storm underway now. The chickens probably think it's the end of the world.

I'm between books at the moment. I finished Graceling this morning. It was ok, but not good enough to make me leap right into Fire. I think I'll read Endless Night by Richard Laymon next. It's a borrowed book and I don't want the owner to think I'm keeping her novels hostage. The lights just dimmed and the cable box keeps rebooting. Looks like I'll be reading by candlelight in a few minutes. Great way to read spooky books!

I have to say that my pain threshold has been getting a workout here lately. Any more of this and I think I'd even be able to watch that scene in Marathon Man where Laurence Olivier drills a nifty hole in one of Dustin Hoffman's healthy teeth. How did it get to this point? I don't know. I guess I don't trust the dentist since every time I go I come away with a cold sore and/or the promise of expensive restoration. I really should find a new one. I keep telling myself that the pain is a result of a cold and nothing more. Even a handful of ibuprofen with an antihistamine chaser hasn't taken the edge off today though. The bone deep ache is now accompanied by sharp stabbing pains, the high pitched whistle of tinnitus and the sensation of my ears popping. Fun, fun, fun. I'd love a syringe of novacaine administered directly to the base of the skull, as long as the brain stem still functions enough for me to breathe without thinking.
I just had panoramic xrays taken by Sweeney, right before she took two or three layers of bone away with her germ riddled dental pick. A faint shadow appeared where an abscess might be beginning to form but that's on the other side of my mouth. Nothing wrong there. I've got a mental image of the dentist informing me that I'll need a root canal. He can barely contain his glee. His nerdy microscope goggles start to fog up with excitement. His wife at the front desk stops flipping casually through her Pottery Barn catalog at this bit of good news and frantically begins circling the items on her wish list in earnest. No matter the cost. Those material goods are the detritus of my very own blood and tears. Teeth don't heal. What can you do? Need a new television? Tsk, tsk, tsk. The number 18 mandibular second molar doesn't look good. We're gonna need to pop off that gold crown and dig around there some more. What's this? Hmmm... that maxillary second premolar will have to go. It doesn't hurt you say? Well, it will.
He starts humming the tune "I'm in the money".
I can feel my pain threshold growing. This isn't too bad. Not like it's childbirth or anything. Besides, chewing is overrated.

This post should be made on the Square Peg Mama blog but I thought I'd add it here, too, just to change pace from the usual bitching and moaning. I direct seeded this squash in my garden. It's called Sweet Dumpling. It's a vigorous vine and climbs well. Very productive. I spooned out the seeds and baked them in a small amount of water for 30 minutes. Then I stuffed them with apples, cranberries, raisins, butter, turbinado and brown sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon and baked for 30 more minutes. I reserved the tops for a cute little lid. Too much? I don't know what it'll taste like but it really smelled good while it was cooking.

I also baked the last of the bread. It turned out great but I wish I could slash the crust the way they do with artisan bread at bakeries. I use a fresh razor blade but the dough is very moist, clinging to the blade. It ends up deflating the loaf. I guess I'll just have to keep on trying.