Iron Deficiency?

 During the pandemic I became enamored with online auctions. I didn't go overboard with it, but I did come across some interesting finds. One was a collection of toy irons. I have since added a few toys and salesmen's models since then:

While we were in Asheville I came across another iron. 

I asked the Mister if this should become part of my collection,

because obviously, my collection was lacking!

The iron was created by Reed Todd a quirky nod to the

"flat iron" building in Asheville, built in 1927. 

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. 

Is It Memorex?

I was browsing Facebook a few days ago and this ad popped up. The shop looked very sweet, and its location (judging by the glimpse of the street out the door) just the same.

Then I noticed that the shop is in Asheville, NC . 

I'm going to be in Asheville at the end of the month. I love shopping in areas that look like this; a pretty street with small, independent, local shops. I've been to Asheville a few times and I have not found what looks like this nice shopping area. 

I searched Google maps to find out where the shop is located. 

Other shops and restaurants popped up that have "sisters" in their names,

but no Smith Shop. 

I really wanted to find this shop. 

I wanted to see this boutique that claims it is built on family values and is family owned. 

I do like to support local shop owners, and perhaps "help two sisters hold on" as suggested 

in the advertisement. 

I found an email address and wrote the shop, asking where they were located,

as I would love to stop in.

And, promptly I received a friendly response.

Here's the first few paragraphs:

Hi Cyndi,

Thank you for reaching out! Since store name operates exclusively online, we do not have a physical location for trying on items. However....

....We are a a legitimate stored dedicated to providing high-quality products and excellent customer service....

....If you have any other questions, fell free to ask. We're here to assist you!

Warm regards,

Mich 

Customer Support Team

 

Did you catch the oddity in the first paragraph?

In the second sentence?

"Since store name operates exclusively...."

Poof! There went my vision of stopping by this area in Asheville to check out the cute shops.

Tthe cute little shop with the two sisters running it isn't exactly real.

The sweet street doesn't seem to exist, well, maybe someplace.

And, maybe Mich, who closed the email 'with warm regards' isn't a real person.

Remember the old ad, "Is it real, or is it Memorex?"

I guess we now have to ask,

Is it real, or is it AI?!

Or, perhaps the nostalgic ad is a smokescreen for a colossal foreign retailer 

having multiple "store fronts" to hawk their goods. 

I don't know - do you?!

I think I'd like to harken back to a simpler, slower, more concrete time.

Follow-up: I emailed Rich and asked if the company/warehouse was at least located in Asheville. I did get a response in the affirmative. But, I am still not convinced that it isn’t just one fish in a large pond. 

 

Asheville #2

The best part of our trip to Asheville came just after our trip with Adventure Caravan came to a conclusion. Our son, daughter-in-law, and our granddaughter came for a visit!

Alexis turned 10 months old on her visit. 

She has become a little person.

She is no longer a baby!

She eats real people food, for the most part.

Here she is telling me the strawberry was a bit tart!

And, since she is walking,

it was time to get big girl shoes!

However, she is still young enough to take a nap when a nap is needed!

We walked around downtown Asheville and stopped in a few shops here and there. We stopped by Lexington Glass Works. This was a fun stop, as the owners, Billy and Geoff do the art, but also want to teach and inform. They filled us in on everything they were doing as they crafted a large vase.

It begins by shaping clear glass, before colored glass is added.

Here the glowing glass, which will cool to red, is pressed around the clear glass.

Glass blowers work in teams on larger pieces.

Geoff is blowing in the tube while Billy rolls and shapes the glass.

The globe is flattened

Temperature is key to glass blowing. 

The internal temperature and the external temperatures

of the piece need to be carefully monitored and adjusted.

Sometimes the piece would be turned in the furnace,

other times they would use torches to heat only one area.

Even Alexis is captivated by the process.

Or, maybe, she thinks the guys are kinda cute!

Asheville has become an artist community. Many of the warehouses have been turned into artist studios, forming the "Arts District". It was fun to stop at a few of the studios to see the art and meet the artists. 

Asheville #1

Our caravan experience ended in Asheville. We had a tour of the Biltmore, then a farewell dinner. Biltmore has always held some fascination for me. The grandeur, the furnishings, the size, and the incredible wealth behind it are almost too much for me to take in. Several times I have experienced a bit of melancholy upon leaving the estate and heading back to my little ranch house and my basic, humdrum life. This time, that didn't happen. In fact, I hated the tour of the Biltmore home! It was so crowded, I couldn't even get into the rooms, or if I did, I was wedged in and my field of vision was limited to what I could see over someone's shoulder, and past their ear.

I love the craftsmanship and the detail. I can't even begin to imagine what it would cost in today's dollars to have a home built with this sort of attention to detail.... if you could even find the craftsmen! Several years ago Mr. Dreamy and my son attended some classes at the College of the Building Arts in Charleston. This college was started in response to Hurricane Hugo (1989) when it was realized the artisans just aren't available to do the level of work required to repair or rebuild older buildings. My men took classes in ornamental blacksmithing. The college had a hard time holding on to their students because the kids would take a year or two of classes, and then would be offered jobs before they even finished the program!

Oops, I've wandered again... back to Asheville!

So, I didn't enjoy the inside of the Biltmore, but we Dreamers enjoyed a brief saunter through the gardens. The flowering trees and shrubs are just waking to spring. They are lovely.

The walled gardens was a riot of color.

As we strolled through the garden beds I wondered how many bulbs they had planted. Now that I have access to the Internet, my question was answered:

96,000

Wow! That's a lot!

We took a few moments to thaw out fingers visiting the greenhouse.

One of the garden photographers was there, shooting flowers for the "What's Blooming Now?" report and the Biltmore Blooms web page. Wouldn't that be a fun job?

She captured this incredible orchid.

One of the gardeners had tipped her off, letting her know how spectacular the blooms were.

Here's another orchid. 

The blossoms seem so delicate.

When we stepped outside, I noticed this guy.

He was singing to the glory of spring!

Do you blame him?!