October Happenings

1 -- Southpoint with Zach; the play area was being remodeled so we looked at the Disney stuff at JC Penney, bought candy, ate it by the fountain, got some lunch upstairs, looked at a toy store, got a balloon at Nordstrom; stuff like that.

I let him wear his UNC shirt to Durham

6 -- schooling and out with Zach

7 -- outside with the kids

ummmm wha!

8 -- Homeland Creamery and Cedarock Park

9 -- Zach swept the leaves off the deck, and then jumped in them; to Tanger

he wanted pretzels

11 -- day trip to Boone with Andrew

12 -- hopscotch chalk drawing

12 - 25 --  Zach and Sophie to the mountains and Illinois

13 -- to the Blue Ridge Parkway, Blowing Rock, and Boone with Mama

14 -- to Valle Crucis, Elk Knob State Park, and Todd with Mama

16 - 18 -- Southport, Oak Island, Wrightsville Beach with Andrew

23 - 24 -- to Damascus, Abingdon, Valle Crucis, and the Blue Ridge Parkway near Sparta with Andrew

24 -- Poppy's birthday; extended family to Gwynn's house for pig pick'n

25 -- the kids home; mine and Andrew's wedding anniversary (we went to Food Lion together...awwww)

He wanted to wear these despite it being about 73 degrees

26 -- chalk art with Zach

27 -- to the children's museum with Zach

making a skeleton

hat hair

skeleton and bats

Zach started his Christmas list

He told me that line after Xbox 360 (which he wants to buy from Michael; thus the $$$) was "model snowflake and Steve in a box" whatever that means!


29 -- enjoying it "snow" leaves

30 -- costume parade and trick or treating in downtown Burlington; trunk of treat by Graham police department and local businesses


31 -- Halloween events at First United Methodist Church, Graham

October Books

Jesus & Muhammad by F.E. Peters --  a blogger/FB friend recommended this book to me, and I got it after putting it on my Amazon Wishlist.  I took about six weeks to read it. Not because it's that big or that deep, but I just didn't read it all the time.  There wasn't tons of new stuff, but it was interesting enough to see these men's lives laid out. I found the parts about poets in Muhammad's time interesting and maybe new (pg. 76), and the Satanic verses (pg. 114) always fascinate me.  

Twisted Innocence by Terri Blackstock -- the third and final book in the Moonlighters series; this one deals more with Holly, and the team's final push to get justice for the murders committed by Leonard Miller

Dining with Joy by Rachel Hauck -- an easy read I got at the library about a cooking show host who cannot cook, but can entertain well enough to bluff her way through it - with the help of her crew.  But wait and see what happens when the show is sold, and her secret is exposed!

Hatteras Girl by Alice J. Wisler -- the story of Jackie and her dream to open the Bailey House as a B&B, and her friends' and family's desire to have her engaged by the end of the year!

She Makes It Look Easy by Marybeth Whalen -- have you ever met someone who makes everything look easy - or makes it seem not-that-difficult to have a nearly perfect life? Well, when Ariel moves into a more upscale neighborhood she meets her neighbor Justine who comes across just that way. And Ariel tries her best to fit in by being more "perfect" like her new friend.  A good lesson about things not always being the way they look from outward appearances.

My Foolish Heart by Susan May Warren -- after watching her mother die in a car accident, Isadora has a difficult time leaving her house.  Yet she hosts a radio show where she advises people about love and dating and marriage.  What happens when the BoyNextDoor calls?

Don't Look Back by Lynette Eason -- this is the second book in a series I started a few months ago; part of the Women of Justice series that I came across at the library; this one deals with Jamie and her past abuser who is stalking her again.

Come Walk With Me by Joan Medlicott -- after being widowed unexpectedly Claire struggles with life alone. Sure she has two adult children, but she doesn't get along well with them.  After a quick move from New York to Florida, Claire still struggles with loneliness.  She tries reconnecting with her children and making new friends.

A Thousand Miles to Freedom: My Escape from North Korea by Eunsun Kim -- I am a sucker for books like this so when I saw this one on the new books shelf, I got it.  What a tale of the author along with her mother and sister's escape.  They were just trying not to starve.  I enjoyed the epilogue when the author talks about her visit to the Midwest (USA) and her impression of people in the US.

Jesus and the Jewish Festivals by Gary M. Burge -- this is another of those small, colorful books that share Bible stuff in context. I picked this one because of some Jewish festival happening near the end of September/first of October.  What I especially liked was how the author pointed out Jesus saying "I am the bread of life" and "the light" and "the good shepherd" at certain times, and how his Jewish audience would have understood those things. 

A Killer Among Us by Lynette Eason - the last in the Women of Justice trilogy this story is about detective Kit, the adopted twin sister of Jamie (main character of the previous book), as she works with her partner, Noah, and the team to solve a mystery.  I remember being shocked at the first of these books, but since I knew how the author hid the killer, I figured out the guilty party in these last two pretty quickly.

The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate -- the story of a lady who just arrived on the Outer Banks with her two children; Tandi agrees to clean the house of the landlady who died in her sleep. She discovers papers written to "Father" and later realizes these are prayers to God. 

The Girls of August by Anne Rivers Siddons -- Keeping up the yearly tradition of meeting at a remote beach house during the month of August, four women adjust to life after one of them died a few years prior.  I liked this book for the most part and will look for more books by this author.

The Perfect Letter by Chris Harrison -- Leigh leaves New York City for a brief work conference back home in Texas, and ends up being confronted with people and letters and memories (big deal ones) from her past

The Shadow of Your Smile by Susan May Warren -- a lady falls hard on ice and loses 25 years of memories!  She cannot remember being married, and who are these young men calling her "mom"?  She's still in college!

Take a Chance on Me by Susan May Warren -- I've already read a couple of her books that I found at the library.  This one is about a family in northern Minnesota and a new assistant district attorney who comes into town.  Darek, Tiger, Ivy, Jensen...those folks

The Sweetness of Tears by Nafisa Haji -- I like how the author had the different characters tell this story by assigning them chapters.  This one is about Jo who grew up in an evangelical Christian family in California.  In high school, she is troubled by the fact that her parents' eyes are blue while hers are brown.  After puzzling over this for a time, she asks her mom, and discovers a family - and a family background - very different from the one she has known.

Red: A History of the Redhead by Jacky Colliss Harvey -- the author touches on redheads in ancient history mentioning Thrace in particular; redhead clusters around the world; the recessive gene; art with redheads; redhead symbolism; red hair on men and woman and how that is perceived; redheads in movies and on TV; how redheads need more anesthesia; even a redhead festival in Holland



Sweet Blessings by Jillian Hart -- this book is so silly; a man, of course, comes in to save the day every.single.time. Except for when the dear lady saves him from a lonely life due to all her sweetness

Mountain Trip with My Mom

Last mountain post, finally!!!  :)



Earlier this year, my mom and I were able to take a couple of overnight trips.   In March we went to the Southport/Oak Island area, and in mid-April we went to the Boone area.  Well, after Andrew and I took our day trip to the Boone area on October 11, I asked Mama if she wanted to go since we both had a couple of open days.

So, on Tuesday, October 13, we met at my house (since I live a bit closer to the mountains) and we headed to the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Getting ready to leave

We enjoyed many of the same sights Andrew and I saw two days prior, but we also went to a few places that Andrew and I skipped.

"...and here's my house."

We visited the Moses Cone Manor grounds, and took a short walk and enjoyed the view.

We also ate lunch by the stream at the Julian Price picnic area.  We took another short walk there. 

this was something we saw on the walk

Then we enjoyed looking at the lake.

And other views along the parkway.

Later we went to Blowing Rock where we split up.  We shopped a bit, snacked some, read, walked, enjoyed people-watching, stuff like that.  We checked in periodically, but this was our time to just do what we pleased.

I found a lovely sunny spot with wonderful flowers at the Episcopal church.

the little park behind the parking area

I bought a winter flag with cardinals and a lamp post at a small shop.

Eventually we left there to eat supper at Cracker Barrel, and then we went to our hotel for the night.

The next morning, we headed to Valle Crucis where we first stopped by to see a church I remembered from a previous visit with Andrew.  I actually thought this was the white church with the green roof, but found out I was mistaken.  This was the stone Episcopal church with the retreat or conference center on the grounds.

It's only a few minutes drive from the community park which was our next stop.  We walked some here, posed for a few pictures, and then took some time to just relax and read.

Mama picked this spot by the river, but it got really gusty after a time.

Eventually she moved to a sunny spot

closer to where I'd been reading in the sun.

We saw these folks just before we left the park

Later we visited the annex and original Mast General Store.  Mama met a family from Florida. They were all sitting out on the back porch. The family shared their pickled okra (I declined, but Mama tried it.)  She said they asked where she was from, and finding out we were from NC, looked at each other and said, "See? The locals do come here."  (We aren't exactly local local, but more so than Floridians would be!)

From Valle Crucis, we went through Boone towards Todd. Andrew often rides his bike on the old railroad road, but Mama and I were actually going to check out the area around Elk Knob State Park on Meat Camp Road.  We went two miles past EKSP and ran into some stunning views!  I turned around at a driveway just past a bridge, and we stopped at EKSP for a couple of pictures.

We left there and visited Todd for a short while before heading home.

We had a great trip!