catch up

im gonna play a little catch up on photos. i snatched these from nick's camera. most if not all were taken by him. alright. here are a few more pics from nyc.

parking is a BE- ach!

reading "the ugly duckling"

so many parks. i cant remember which one this is. one of the few pics of us together (that we didnt take)

...............................................................................................................................................

the road to our house/barn... more hot air balloons

goofin' around! what i do best

copy cat! he he

on a bike ride (same as the one above) around this pretty (and private) lake. probably my favorite "trail" out here, but we can't likely go back. :(

these two are from one of his many bike rides alone

this was a monumental day for me. not such a good pic but it's a reminder of what i can accomplish. we were on one of the many trails at Bent Creek, this one we had taken only once before. see, i typically don't take too many risks. period. ive been taking more risks lately in life, sometimes still in baby steps. i typically dont jump curbs even when it leaves me hopping off my bike in the middle of the street. but.... on this day, everything just lined up. i was flying down the trail behind nick (as i usually do follow him, maybe less pressure. not sure). i had just shortly before rode over (and through) a half eroded log that lay across the road. nothing too impressive, or anything i hadnt done before. but it was kind of a building up to this next step. so i was having a good time, mastered (ha ha) the "half log", had some speed built up coming down the decline, see another log (full/solid this time), think "am i gonna try it", see nick clear it, see 2 bikes heading towards us on the other side.... have only a sec to decide... do i brake really fast, jump off my bike and pull it over the log while (since the trails are narrow) the others wait and watch me... or ... do i go for it and try to clear the log, hoping i dont really make a fool of my self and get hurt in the process with this lovely audience. well, nick stopped to get over for the other bikers and is now also half watching me (he probably didnt think i was going to do it) but I DID! i came flying down, hopped over the log, caught a little air, felt the rush, realized i better keep control of the bike on the landing, hollard "shit!" and landed perfectly! very exciting. ... (if you look closely, i already had some small bruises on my shin where the petal got me in the air, but i got my foot back on it before landing, thank goodness). ill take the bruises! it was worth it!

so i frowned upon picture taking during this endeavor, but since its so far away... its ok. this was taken a couple weeks ago on our 2nd backpacking trip. we didnt realize the river we had to cross was soooo high. i pulled my pant legs up as high as i could, but unfortunately my arse still got wet. (and then it rained the rest of the trip. fun times)

good pic. taken before trying the 'aweful'...strong martini and being shut down on our card game. according to the bartender, it is illegal to play cards in an establishment that sells liquor. weird! i did a little researching and was unable to find any proof of such a law. (we continue to play cards in other bars.)

havin' fun

belaying in my nifty new helmet. safety first :)

Meditation, new Work Space, and a Concert

This journey, at least in my mind, is multi-fauceted. One being the exploration of art, but also the exploration of new ideas and ways to live. We all desire to be healthy. Healthy of mind and body. A lot of us desire for improvement. Self improvement, more specifically. But improvement in the quality of life, too. I desire to improve myself in ways that might bring me and those around me, more peace, happiness, and enrichment. Wow. That seems like a much taller order now that it's in front of me in black and white (or black and green, same diff).

In my journey, I see meditation as part of the equation. Nick and I are also looking for ways to become a part of the community here and meet new people. So... Monday we joined a meditation class. It was held in a ladies home. There were 9 of us there. (Nick being the only male and the only one who admittedly had never "meditated" before.) I enjoyed it. I felt like I was visiting friends because I was welcomed into her home and we all sat around expressing what we think and feel/experience. It was a very comfortable setting. I would love to continue with it.

We also had the idea of joining a square dance class at a fun venue. Just so happens, it's on Monday nights, too. We have also heard of a class on Thursday's somewhere else. So maybe we can do both.

Alright....................... ON TO YESTERDAY. (what a neat phrase)
Yesterday was great! We did a little thrift shopping and I found these beautiful glasses I some how managed to resist buying.

We actually need glasses, but they are shorties. (If they are there when I go back, though...) Picked up some fall colored fabric.

AND I finally got a table to paint on. (while I waited for it to be loaded on the car roof, I took some fun pics of a vintage sofa that someone made a little more appealing by coloring in the flowers.)
Brought it home and set it up right away. There is already an explosion of inspiration all over it.

this is my work space.

Then last night, we went to a concert at a venue (that use to be a skating rink) called the Orange Peel. If you come to Asheville, check it out. The name of the group is called Ten Out of Tenn. They are 10 separate singer/song writers that have their own CDs/music as well are in other bands. One guy tours with Keith Urban (I believe it was) and another girl tours with Jewel. They were awesome!! Worth every penny. They each took turns singing while the rest played guitars, keys, harmonicas, tambarine, etc. After the show, they came down onto the floor (all 10 of them) and we gathered in a circle around them, and we all sang together. So much fun. They offered a bundle deal where you get all 10 of their individual CDs plus the groups' CD. So we got them. YAY!!

11 CDs and the event poster (snatched off the wall as we were leaving, of course :)

..........................................
..........................................


I also want to share some pictures of some artwork that Nick recently purchased from some local artists. The first two are artists' work we saw in an large exhibition a few weeks ago and these two artists' were my favorites. This one is an original and in our bathroom right now. Deona Fish


This one has a really neat message. It's titled "Never give up" (a print) by Sarah Faulkner and pictures a country fence. The fence posts are wood strung together with wire, and one of the fence posts has sprouted a branch and is growing into a tree again. We hung it on one of the wood beams.


This last painting is one he was intrigued by. Its an original and titled "the birds and the bees". The artist incorporated the wood knots into her painting, leaving bare wood showing. And the curly lines you see on it are actually words strung together.

the jury's in....

Well, I wasn't born in a barn, but now I get to live in one! YAY!!!
We have committed, but there is still some renovating that needs to be done. We should be able to officially move in near the end of next week. I'm hoping Thursday so I can wake up there on my birthday. We already bought some furniture today and are storing it in the barn's attic. It's a big space that might look a little empty. I'll do my best to make it fun and homey. I'll post pics of the place once we move in and have it set up.

Asheville, NC

Sunday we drove from Arkansas, across the entire state of Tennessee, to North Carolina. We stopped in Nashville to have dinner and walk around downtown. There was live music coming from most of the doorways we passed along the way. This wall was found in Nashville, although Johnny actually grew up in Arkansas in a town now named Cash.

Sunday night, we made it to North Carolina. We stayed in a neighboring town with a distant family member for a couple nights.

Monday morning was our first introduction into Asheville. We sat at a local coffee shop/cafe all day = me searching for and emailing about places to stay, and Nick was working. We have checked out quite a few places, and hope to make a decision tonight. *fingers crossed*

Just for fun, I've included some pics and links of places we've looked at this week. This first one had a river flowing in its "front yard." We would have gotten the whole house to ourselves. It was furnished and had a loft bedroom. It was pretty remote so we decided for our first time here, we'd get a place closer to Asheville.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We filled out an application on this next one, but someone beat us to the punch. The pictures don't do it justice. There is a new, really nice wood garage door on it which we could park in but... its where the washer and dryer is and I'd planned to use it as a studio. The upstairs apartment is small, but very charming. Nick and I were both sold on it right away.



.......................................................................................................................................................................

Today we looked at an awesome space that is actually in a BARN.

a RED BARN!




The owners just bought the place in June and have already had quite a bit of work done. They had 2 bedrooms put in. There was already a kitchen, but it is currently getting a face lift. It has a huge open space with a really tall ceiling, new picture window so lots of natural light, really neat beams throughout. The living space is the middle floor in this 3 story barn. The upstairs was previously used as a greenhouse but the new owners put in a wood roof to use it as storage (which we could share, but won't need it). The bottom floor is used as a work shop with work benches and tools, plus more storage space. It use to house cows so half of the space has an odd concrete floor (that's the storage side). We are also allowed to shared the workshop area.

Needless to say, we filled out an app on it today, too!!!

oh, and did I mention that the main house use to (and will again after renovation) function as a bed and breakfast!?! Besides lots of room in the barn with us, you all could come stay in the bed and breakfast. :D

www.foxandfiddle.net shows the whole property (b&b, etc.)
www.foxandfiddle.net/apartment/

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We have one more place to look at tonight. Its a community living arrangement and we are excited to meet them. They are artists and computer people, too. We haven't seen any pics of the space yet so here is some info on them and the place instead. "Our interests/hobbies include Chinese medicine, herbalism, natural building, clay, weaving, drawing/painting, hiking, camping, potlucking, stories around fires, learning..." Info about the house: the basement apartment is the portion of the house that is being rented out. "It has 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, kitchen and living area. Floors are stained concrete (SoyCrete), warm clay color. Pretty morning light, garden space just outside, partially wooded, private parking just outside."
"Natural, Gaia-conscious household. Organic gardens, herbs and fruits and veggies in the plans. Some established. Composters. Prefer vegetarian house. No smoking. Cob oven in the plans too. ...
Would like to have occasional potlucks and sharing of goodies."

**It would be nice to make some instant friends here that can introduce us to the area, and share common interests.
............................................

It might end up being a really hard decision to make if they want us and we are accepted for the barn space, too. We could only be so lucky!