Some yummy food on an outing

 A trip to Morgantown to the Asian Fusion Kitchen

A fun decorated ceiling gave us a cheerful welcome.

Bulgogi (Korean BBQ Beef) was Judy's delight. She said it was well seasoned but not "hot" spicey.

Pad Woon Sen was delicious! I brought half of it home!

Others also had a great soup and appetizers, which I forgot to take photos of.

Today's quote:

In normal life we hardly realize how much more we receive than we give, and life cannot be rich without such gratitude.

DIETRICH BONHOEFFER

Day trip to Cooler Climes, Part 1 of 2

 Just go higher on mountains, and anyone knows it's cooler up there. So we did. The three adults and one grandchild tootled along to Little Switzerland. We had all the time in the world.

View from overlook at the Skyline Inn, Little Switzerland, NC

The Skyland Inn on US 226.

There used to be a small building on this site, see my blog HERE with before and after pics of the original Skyland Inn (and below just added to this post June 23, 2024).

An aerial view of the Inn and overlook where we were standing with an older photo to compare.

A post from 2014 about my first visit to the Little Switzerland Bookstore. HERE.

Two groups in front of the bookstore

But the restaurant is "always closed Tues and Wed." we learned. Why hadn't any one of us checked?

We wandered around the used book store...and I did succumb to some lovely cards that are just precious!

Romeo & Juliet

Cinderella

Laser cut cards that pop out caught my attention.

As we made different lunch decisions, I noticed a vining/tree that grew next to the bookstore entrance. Nothing gets past me!

Its roots are under the building.

And the top of it is all over the porch roof!

More photos of our lunch, and of the Blue Ridge Parkway trip home soon!

Today's quote:

"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. 
We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift."

Sharing with Skywatch Friday

Maybe a good day

 I'm starting out with the ho-hum of staying in bed late, because there's cloud cover making it still look like 6 am.  

Yesterday was my final of two things about my bod.

Last physical therapy session meant seeing where I've made improvement, and where I still am short of the abilities I could have. Since one of my original goals was to regularly walk around the lake, and I haven't done that, I missed it completely. My shoulders and arm reach have improved noticeably. And I feel more balanced just walking or climbing stairs.

But I'm still not able to stand on one foot, lift the other up into a stair and then distribute my weight up...especially going sideways. That balance routine escapes me.

And I had my last mammogram yesterday.

I asked the clerk when I'd had my last one, and she said just 2022. I said I didn't think we needed them that often, nor after a certain age. She said they now recommend a mammo yearly after age 40. I guess they are able to detect changes better that way. But I haven't ever had any questionable films, so I think it's time to graduate from that "joy." And I got the results already...nothing to worry about! Wheee!

I may (depending upon how I feel in a couple of hours) go to Sit-R-Cise. I'm meeting a young friend for lunch, and hope our older friend can also make it. She's been complaining of back pain, but thinks maybe some exercise might help.

Today's quote:

Keep inviolate an area of light and peace within you.

CORAZON AQUINO

Got to the next day

 I made it through my anxiety about the chemicals that could kill mold being sprayed all around my apartment. I still felt them after going out for a while.

Friend came to pick me up because my car was blocked by the truck and trailer of the pressure wash guys (see below.)

My car is closest on the left just behind the trash corral, facing the black gear on the pressure wash trailer. I got out of my apartment before the sprayer came at my building. At one point I put on a mask, which helped me a bit.

Judy called and said she felt better than a couple of days ago, and wanted to go to lunch. So she called another friend and we met (reminding myself it was Wed.) at Ole's. I am so turned around by a holiday on Mon.

We enjoyed a cool breeze by Flat Creek, for lunch.

My 2 shrimp tacos, a la cart, hit the pocket book at $8.00. Good meal and a good tip was painless.

I came home and took a nap!

Today's quote:

Death can come at any minute, in any way. We do not know what is in store tomorrow, or, whether there is a tomorrow, or even a tonight! But still, we have the golden present. Now we are alive and kicking. What should we do now? Love all, serve all.

SRI SWAMI SATCHIDANANDA

Once you get the horse in good shape,

 ... and the house, then where do you go with horse, and return to nice house? I see my physical beingness as the horse. And my mental as the rider. The goal, or direction we're riding in is my spiritual aspect of being, for this metaphor.

I'm feeling particularly good about my physical health today. This is the 4th anniversary of my heart attack and receiving a stent on my LAD of my heart. And I am incredibly grateful for the care I received from Mission Hospital staff at that time, when COVID had just begun to be the treatment nightmare that it was for so many. Very glad to have had these last 4 years of life also!

 I woke this morning without groaning aches, though my limbs were stiff still.  A good night's sleep, as far as I can remember. Not the 4 o'clock hours of tossing and turning at least! After the physical review (annual for insurance) and doing some real back muscle work at Pys. Therapy, I am thrilled to not have sore shoulders either. So all things a plus.

And a big plus of my putting away clean dishes this morning, which usually sit in the drainer till I use them. 

So I cooked a really good lunch yesterday, because the lunch program was closed for a GOP runoff election. I'll share some pics of what I put together. But later at dinner I only had a chocolate shake protein drink, and some nuts. I think the big meal being digested earlier in the day may have helped my sleep. 

It was delicious and not too spicy, which the Indian dishes are if not eaten over rice. Half an avocado went well with everything. Shrimp had been thawed and nuked just 15 seconds, and they could have been hotter, but were a bit tough anyway.

This is certainly not a meal I would have at the Lakeview Senior Center!  But it did mean I cleaned up the kitchen in the afternoon while I still had plenty of energy!

And speaking of the Senior Center, I need to get ready for Sit-R-Cise class now. But first here's what I saw there on Mon. morning.

Nobody at my table knew who it belonged to. I'm thinking maybe the social worker who comes to give a talk on some Monday mornings before lunch!

Today's quote:

Joy is the best makeup. -Anne Lamott, writer (b. 10 Apr 1954)

Smoke and

Mirrors? 

Slept through, though sirens did wake me a bit, early morning fire behind a nearby motel...Tues. morning around 8 am. There were some long-term units right behind the motel.

A distant shot across the town of Black Mountain picked up the smoke from the fire as the sun rises across the face of the mountains. I live somewhere behind the plume of smoke.

Drove by after lunch, and there was a puddle of water on the parking lot...all that was left to see from this big smoke. 

I heard from FB that engines came from Swannanoa (next community west on US 70) as well as both Black Mountain stations. I'm glad there didn't seem to be any structural damage. The end of that building (in the back) has a double garage door. There's a big dumpster right about where the fire looks like it happened. Maybe they're taking whatever burned and putting it in the dumpster. Anyway, it looks like there wasn't much happening.

Lunch today I skipped eating the Sweedish meatballs, had just the sticky brown rice, mushy chopped  broccoli, a dinner roll with butter, and the canned peaches. I came home and ate some Havarti cheese and crackers to get my protein for that meal!

No further errands or exercise today. Got winded easily so slowed to the turtle crawl which lets me at least get where I'm going without being out of breath.

Stopped in the library and picked up "Killers of the Flower Moon." Some cheerful reading to look forward to. But my friend said the book was much better than the movie.

 Today's quote:

To this day I believe we are here on Earth to live, grow, and do what we can to make this world a better place for all people to enjoy freedom.

ROSA PARKS

A lunch treat that's sometimes crowded

 I've been visiting the Veranda at least since 2014, when I first blogged about it. When the tourist season is in full swing, there are lines of people waiting to get in. But it has a pretty fast turnover, and interesting things to look at while waiting.

I had another post about it in 2019...you could look at lots of deserts in that glass top cooler.

However during COVID I think it may not have continued having dine-in meals. Just look how close together everyone is!

The entrance reflected that it was a cool but sunny day.

They've added some art both on the windows and on boards inside giving different information.

Last week it looked better, more spacious with less of the waiting area with goodies, and more room for tables by removing the cooler where deserts used to be displayed.

My candid shot of my friends...not very flattering. But the other pew bench is now on the opposite wall giving more tables. They still sell those pretty umbrellas which are hanging above the register counter.

As an established luncheon site in Black Mountain, we just wondered why we don't go there more often!

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

Weather catch-up. Yesterday, Sunday morning at 8 am was 6 degrees, but later it got above freezing. And Mon. promises a warming trend!

A word for today:

idiolatry noun: Self worship.

A lunch counter from yesterday

I was surprised how many people came in from the cold to have lunch at Woolworth Walk.
My friend and I had also come to see the arts and crafts on display over the 2 levels of a former Woolworths, in Asheville, NC

The quality of work was surprisingly good, with quite a variety of media.

I admit to having a preconceived expectation (prejudice actually) that because this had formerly been a "dime store" the crafts would also be the more shall-I-say...cheap versions!  Nope.  There were a few displays of DIY which I skipped looking at, but most of them were high quality, and some incredibly good.

This was actually a gallery, where fine art was occasionally displayed.

I can never get a good photo of my friend, even when we talk about her posing for me, but this was a candid attempt.

 She was busy showing me photos of her foster kittens.  They are darling, of course.

 Oh yes, lunch was good and quite reasonable.