Pierced Ears?!?! and Other Things

Our two young ladies have really sprouted here in Asheville!  We' re trying new things, meeting new people and exploring new places.   We've decided it's fun to find new stuff to do!  

Last Saturday we took Marlea to the mall to get her ears pierced.  She went with birthstone studs so now she has some lovely sapphire colored earrings and holes in her ears.  She was very brave about the process and never cried.  

To take her mind off of the slight discomfort in her ears we took a turn on the bungee jumper they have at the mall.   This is like a giant jolly jump up for anyone up to 200 lbs.  Next time the parents are going to get a turn too!  

Marlea recommends this as an immediate follow up for anyone who has just gotten their ears pierced and says that by the time you're done jumping you'll have forgotten it was done at all!

Of  course we blinged up both girls at Claire's Accessories shop so now they are ready to let loose their style on their new town.  So let's hit it!

After the mall we went for an explore to see the views from Town Mountain and found a lost dog who had gotten away from home.  We were able to get him returned safe and sound.  Both girls were amused to see Mama Cindy hefting an elderly and over weight golden retriever into the back of the Element until they noticed his unique personal fragrance.  Then they were very happy to make sure he got home and out of the car as soon as he could.  Nothing in the world smells quite like an old retriever.  In the end Sampson the GR was happy to be home and we felt good for helping so it was all good. 

We also are enjoying our own personal Mini Golf course!  OK it's not only ours but it is right down the road and a fun one!  We explored it last Sunday and had a great time.  Harmony won, by the way, fair and square by one stroke.

The weather has been gorgeous with plenty of fair weather in the high 70s low 80s and there's always a breeze blowing so it never feels too hot.  Since there aren't really any pools to join that we've found here yet, Cass set the girls up with a slip and slide that is just awesome in the backyard. 

Marlea also just joined Girls on the Run at school and is so excited about it. They meet once a week after school and run 3 miles. Her first time was yesterday and she came home pink cheeked and begging for the foot bath, but proud and happy with her accomplishment. Both teacher sponsors took a moment to tell Cass how wonderfully MJ did, and how fast she is. MJ was a little disappointed in her progress at first and thought they should call it Girls on the Walk but we explained there are very few things anyone can do perfectly out of the gate the first time. So she is challenged and motivated to go back and hit it hard again next week. We joined too late for her to participate in the race this year but we will at least start building a practice routine for next year. Run girls, Run!

The grown ups have been kept busy all week with more meetings but things are moving quickly. This week we've been focusing on establishing residency, meeting with potential insurance companies, meeting the architect, a terrific guy and neighbor to the club - his office is just next door, and more planning the little details.    Had a major score and found 40 beautiful Arts & Crafts style chairs at the SA that are going to look great for the Sweet Rock and we can take our design cues from them when we do the booths and other furniture.  

On a local Asheville note, the Dripolator, a fabulous local coffee house, just closed yesterday and is moving across town.  This was one of the first locations we scouted as a potential site for the restaurant.  It's owned and run by wonderful folks and we wish them all the best in their new location.  We stopped in yesterday right before they shut the doors and Mama Cindy ended up with the last espresso they'll ever make in that space.  Here's to the New Dripolator!

We're excited, motivated and moving full steam ahead!  

Keys to the Restaurant

The week has been a wonderful whirlwind of contractors, inspectors, meetings, more contractors, and more meetings and now we're looking for an architect and an insurance agent. We contacted one last night who has done work for the previous club and knows the building so we're looking forward to meeting and talking with them today. We met with the landlords last Monday and gave them the deposit while we go forward with the permitting and planning and they gave us THE KEYS!!!!! 

The building is just awesome and all of the potential is there. And more good news, the place where we want to feature a roll up door, well it's exactly where a roll-up door used to be and the landlord group thinks it's an excellent idea. I'm going to spend some time looking for archival photos of the building and see what we come up with. Hey! Found One already, that's us on the right at the former OK Tires and the wall for the traffic management school is ours to paint!

There's no doubt this is going to be a LOT of work especially in the short time frame we've given ourselves but everything will continue working out as long as we keep working hard. 

Having survived all of the trials of moving out and in and the new challenges with the new/old house, the rest of our time here has been just amazing! The house is getting comfy fast and we've stopped making wrong turns in it [mostly]. We all just love the weather and watching the sun come up and go down among the mountains. Everywhere you look there's a picture waiting to happen. Mama Cindy has become more than a little twitchy because there is so much work to be done and so many pictures waiting to be made. Here's a few quick ones from a quick afternoon escape Cass and Cindy made to the Grove Park Inn:

The girls are finishing up their first week of school today and are still liking it. MJ is going to get her ears pierced this weekend, and assures me (Mama) that she is ready. Harmony wants to try rock candy again please, and I need another photo shoot with several pieces so that's in our future this weekend as well. Oh and more BIG news! Harmony lost one of her front teeth! Here's the new smile! 

To celebrate we went to Piggie's in Hendersonville on Saturday which is one of those roadside attractions that draws Mama Cindy like a magnet!! Smilin' Cass says it's like e-bay exploded all over it. Then we headed back to Asheville via Lake Lure and Chimney Rock and stopped for ice cream and a short walk along the river. 

So for now it's more unpacking and planning but we are finally beginning to feel at home in our new town love our new neighbors and can't wait to see our dreams turn into reality.

Our next installment: "Pierced Ears?!?! and other things. . ."

The House Reveals It's Secrets. . .

We spent the first 3 days unpacking, literally unloading the truck. Thank goodness Tim Stout, our future chef, came forward with his family to help us unload. He and Cass had it knocked out and into the garage in an afternoon. Now moving out of the garage is another thing again but at least we were able to return the monster U-Haul truck and trailer combo. Just as the moving dust was beginning to settle we started to look around at the quirky problems that always come along with houses over 50 years old. 2 elements, the big burners of the electric stove were burned out. The dishwasher worked but had no water. The garbage disposal turned on but had not grind. And a host of other weirdness. And just as we were beginning to get our feet under us and had just sent the property management company an e-mail saying who do we contact for utility transfer, the power went off. The owner had transferred the service without a heads us so we spent a night camping out w/o power until the transfer work order went through and they cut the power back on.

We acknowledged our moment of 'Duh!' for not doing the transfer right away and to head off any further disasters we promptly began contacting utilities and services to transfer things into our names. Things were going just great too, until Cass called the City of Asheville who is in charge of the water. The upshot was that the landlord had never gotten an Occupancy Permit to lease the house and we would need a home inspection to obtain one. Cass said "I'm just trying to do the right thing so my water doesn't get cut off." The city was very sympathetic, they appreciated his honesty and assured us that they would send someone out first thing in the morning to turn the water off. Huh!?!

Needless to say it's been a little bit of a roller coaster since then, but the property management company was very good about scheduling the repairs immediately - as well as putting us up in a place with water and power while we waited. The last of the electricians and plumbers left this afternoon giving us the all clear [+ we made some new friends along the way, Thanks Jerry & John!] and the inspector is due tomorrow. So happy day, we really do have a wonderful house to live in that suits us very well, is big enough for guests and is now also, safe to occupy. The kids started school on Monday and are finding there grooves pretty easily. They both like their teachers, school lunch and are making plenty of new friends. So we are now settled in and hanging up pictures and figuring out where things really go and loving our new town. Drop us a line!

Here's the address: 512 N. Louisiana Avenue, Asheville, N.C. 28806 Home #: (828) 505-0473

Next Installment. . . .

Keys to the Restaurant.

And Away We Go. . .

We have had a whirlwind year leading up to our move to Asheville.  A lot of folks probably didn't think it was really going to happen.  But it has!  We have put our big feet forward, hitched up our wagon, Volkswagen that is, and moved west to the big mountains of Western North Carolina. 

We've been moving so fast that Mama Cindy hasn't had much time to take out the camera so more pictures will follow.

First of all, thank you Brad for hooking us up with the truck.  When Cass first brought it home we thought there was no way we would be able to fill it up.  It looked huge and we were a streamlined house showing unit with very little baggage left, having sent most of it forward to Cindy's Mom's house in Eastern NC.  Turns out it was exactly the right size and we still ended up having to cram things into the bug at the last minute to make it all fit.  Whew! Cass let the girls and neighborhood kids just run all over it empty the first day we had it while we got organized and packed. They had a great time and it will probably be the one thing, years from now, that they remember about the move. 

The neighbors all came out to watch and help and hug and cry. Bel Aire was such a wonderful place to start our family and we are so grateful for the friends and neighbors we have there.  So long to sweet Falls Church, the last pocket of country inside the beltway!






We left late on Saturday afternoon after finishing the load up in the rain. The clouds parted as we headed west onto I-66 and then South on 81.  We had a dazzling sunset and the mountains at our feet as we pushed through the night for higher ground.  We finally landed in Asheville at our new house, at about 1:30 in the morning on Easter Sunday.  Hallelujah!  We had just enough energy left to blow up the air mattresses and get everyone to bed after a quick explore of the new house. 





Tune in for the next installment. . . The House Reveals It's Secrets.