What Were They Thinking?!!

 Seriously?

It makes one wonder!

Last year we bought a used motorhome. When we transferred our belongings from the old motorhome to the new-to-us motorhome we realized that the new-to-us RV didn't have the vacuum accessories. Odd that someone would take them off when they traded in the RV, but, OK, so be it. We took the accessories from the RV we were trading in, and then found out that we needed a different hose.

I finally ordered it. It was delivered to NC where we stayed last week. I could vacuum. (And with two Corgis, I must vacuum!) 

Yesterday we were packing up to head home. The new-to-us RV is going to stay on the lot in NC. As I mentioned, I was packing up. I needed a few shopping bags to transport our stuff. I usually fold them and toss them behind the seats in the RV. 

There I was, practically standing on my head looking for the bags behind the seats. The one I was specifically looking for was my large blue IKEA bag. If you have shopped at IKEA, you know. It's a great conveyance for clothes. It holds a lot. 

So, as I said, I'm practically standing on my head, and I see a corner of blue material peeking out from a space under the arm rest of the chairs. I reach down and tug. Tug some more, and ever so slowly I pulled out .....

a bag of vacuum accessories! A bag of brand new, never used vacuum accessories! 

What?! The former owners never vacuumed? The former owners never had an occasion to practically stand on their heads to search for something behind the seats? The former owners never saw that little piece of blue poking out from a space that extends under the arm rest, and can ONLY be accessed from the back! 

Brand new vacuum accessories:

Where they were hidden:

I can't fathom the thinking that may (or may not) have gone into the decision to tuck away the bag of accessories in that location 

A Magical Spot

A picture just doesn't do it justice.

This is our special grotto, with a bridal veil fall of water

that looks like strings of pearls. 

What you can't judge in the picture is that everything 

above the heads of my son and grandkids rises vertically. 

The picture makes it looked steeply sloped, 

but drips from the top most ridge fall on the lip of the ridge below it,

and they fall on the edge below,

and so forth, until the last drips fall into a small pool behind the kids. 

It's a short, but fairly steep hike to get to the falls.

I spent a few hours earlier this week trimming laurel out of the way

for most of the ascent. 

Our son made comments about how neat it would be to create a walkway,

perhaps with a little bridge, and some steps,

all leading to the falls where there would be a small bench

to rest on and enjoy the water music. 

The Mister and I had similar thoughts over the years!

 

Picnic Rock

Then...

My sons, David and Chris

1997

Now....

My grandkids, Kellan and Lex

(That's poison ivy up there...Kellan wasn't too keen in sitting down!)

 

Grove Arcade

On our recent trip to Asheville we came across the Grove Arcade. This is a beautiful building that was  one of America's first indoor malls, opening in 1929. After renovations at the turn of the century, the building has been returned to its original purpose and houses boutiques, offices and restaurants. I was entranced by the design and the art of the building. They don't build them like this any more!

I was curious about the purpose of the ramps that zig and zag up the outside of the building. 

A bit of reading and I now know they were for pedestrians, 

including women with strollers, 

to access a roof garden where they often had music and tea.

The floor gently slopes from one entrance, downhill to another.

Spiral stairs, currently adorned with huge paper flowers,

allow access to a balcony with access to more spaces, possibly some apartments.

I think this may have been a 'communication hub'

housing a bank of payphone...back in the day!

I found this Grove Arcade web site which can take you on a tour of the building and 

offers a bit more history. 

The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

A Trip Along Alt 74 in NC

 From the twists and turns of Ms. Pac-Man at the PinBall Museum ....

To the twists and turns of Alt. 74 between Asheville and Chimney Rock, NC.

This was always our favorite route from Lake Lure area to Asheville.

The Mister loves driving the curves.

Although Google Maps showed the route being open, 

we may or may not have slipped through a barrier 

showing the road was closed to all but local traffic.

Well, we were kinda local, right?! 

Areas of the road were reduced to a single lane due to undermining of the road

from the waters of Hurricane Helene.

There were three areas manned controlled by stoplights. 

You could see some of the washed out areas,

but what you couldn't see, unless you knew the area, were the washed away buildings.

Many of them.

Parts of the highway have been shored up and rebuilt.

Other parts have been created along new paths where what remained of the

valley was too steep or narrow to carve out a new section of road.

The road used to be on the far left of the picture, 

near the buildings you can see. There's not enough room to remake the road there. 

You can see a bit of the former highway on the left, 

its destination is now covered by a dirt slide. 

The reshaping of this valley, 

the moonscape that has been left,

is hard to stomach. 

One wonders if its beauty will ever return....

probably not in my lifetime.

And to think that this is only one small area of North Carolina 

that suffered such destruction from the storm. 

The story is retold in countless other villages and towns that were

flooded and lost structures and infrastructure. 

Pinball Wizards

Who knew that Asheville has a Pinball Museum? 

Our kids discovered it. 

Who knew that it was the perfect 3-generation venue? 

We all had fun playing a variety of pinball games and vintage video games. I, for one, could have stayed longer, but the littles wanted to move on! Seriously??? Leave all of the dazzling lights, bells and buzzers and flipper action??!!

Chris plays while our granddaughter looks on

Grandson playing and Zoe is in the background on the neighboring machine.

There are at least 40 (according to website) pinball machines that are playable.

Others, including some of the earliest models where small nails (pins) direct or obstruct the balls, are on display. I kinda felt like I was going back in time to college days, stopping by the 'arcade' behind the student union to lose a few quarters in the machines. 

Some of the machines were very simplistic, 
with bumpers that would push the ball around.

Others were quite complex, with chutes or 'underground' 
levels redirecting the balls. 

Chris seems pleased with his score. 

I noticed that the players, including our granddaughter,
show a lot of concentration and almost no emotion while playing. 
It was hard to get pictures with the machines lined up,
without trying to wedge oneself between machines,
possibly causing a 'tilt' error! 

The video console games were in a second room of the museum. Again, I took a time-travel trip back to playing PacMan or Tetris, and even the original Pong from days of yore!

Sketchy Times!

I am excited!

I LOVE participating in the Sketchbook Revival!

One might even say that the reason my blog posting dropped off ten years ago, or so, can be blamed on the first Sketchbook Revival that I followed. In 2018 I happened upon the Sketchbook Revival. Seeing the videos posted each day opened my eyes to a whole new way of thinking about sketchbooks an sketching. Up to that point I really thought of them, and had a few myself, with some rough pencil sketches. Nothing unusual about them! But, the artists showcased in the revival showed me new, unusual, artful ways of using a sketchbook, and I was hooked. Here are a few pictures of some of my sketchbook pages from the past:

The guest artists from the revival demonstrated many different styles of 'sketchbooks' and art. Some strictly use pencils, others invite collage and the use of mixed media. I enjoyed 'sketching' with watercolor and ink. 

I practiced a lot in 2018 and took a sketchbook and tiny watercolor set with me to Europe. I sketched images from our riverboat trip that year. That sketchbook is now such a great souvenir of our trip. I enjoy looking back through it...kinda like looking back through blog posts! 

Durnstein

The Daily Program with scenes from Passau

The city gate at Prague

If you are at all curious about the Sketchbook Revival (it's free) click here for more information.