Dr. in Old Fort

The Family Care doctor's office is right across the street from the train station.  Top picture is train and the Old Fort monument, next down is a sadly glared picture of the train station itself.
Then we are in the waiting room of the doctor's offrice.

It's very nicely decorated.  The Interior Designer probably made a lot of money doing it.  But hey, it's all hard surfaces.  And HEY THAT GET'S LOUD.  The nurse talking on the other side of the room to a patient seems to be shouting, and nothing is private here.  The waiting room is open to the nurses station.  No fabrics to speak of to soften the echoes.  Sad sad sad.  I hope someone at least throws some carpeting down, because as it is, I'm never going back there!

Bowl me a pear please

An organic Bartlett Pear, perfect...no bruises, cut and enjoyed with drips going down my chin.  This is heaven.  I've found purchasing them 4 days or so before eating, and keeping on the counter inside a bag, they don't have any bruises that leaving them in the bin at the store tends to make.  Duh.  You've probably known this all along.  But I am happy to have found this technique...and oh do I love a couple of these goodies a week.

Bowl by me, which has been reclaimed from the sales shelf.  I'm enjoying the fruits of my labors more these days.

A little color is called for

The featherbed shaking snow goddess, Holle.

Snow is grandmother Holle shaking out her featherbed...(from ancient Germanic folk traditions)
as told by my friend and talented poet, Annelinde Metzner....HERE.

This is another of her beautiful poems which brings together the traditions of a goddess and the wonders of our Appalachian home here in Western North Carolina.

I'm so glad she includes a link HERE to the Sahara Peace Choir singing Annelinde's own song about Holle. (Please turn the sound down after the little girl announces the title!) In this rehearsal video, I was actually a member of that choir, and am seated in blue on the left in the second row.  That was the year I wore my hair red and sang alto!

I should probably mention that Holland was named after Holle.

In Germanic legends, Frau Holda, also Frau Holle, was the protectoress of agriculture and women's crafts....Jacob Grimm made an attempt to establish her as a Germanic goddess .

Grimm based his theory of Holda on what he took to be the earliest references to her: an eleventh-century interpolation to the Canon Episcopi by Burchard of Worms, and pre-Christian Roman inscriptions to Hludana that he tentatively linked to the same divinity. There were early challenges to connecting this figure with a pagan goddess, since her earliest definite appearance links her with the Virgin Mary, commonly called "Queen of Heaven": an early-13th-century text listing superstitions states that "In the night of Christ's Nativity they set the table for the Queen of Heaven, whom the people call Frau Holda, that she might help them". Lotte Motz and Carlo Ginzburg both conclude that she is pre-Christian in origin, based on comparison with other remarkably similar figures and ritual observances spread throughout Europe.   (Source: Wikipedia)

Just some more interesting information about Holle!

Thanks Annelinde for sharing your talents with the Asheville area and beyond!

Day Two of snowed-in

All day snowing, and this ramp had been cleared in the morning by a dog-owner, so he could go somewhere for relief.  By 4:30 pm Friday it was covered again.

I actually took this photo to show the slight little bit of I-40 in the horizontal space right above that roof-line. I would see a car or truck go by every minute or so.

At 8:30 am, our dog owner has again shoveled a path.  I wonder where doggie goes.

The handrail is for 2 steps, not usable at this point.  I would guess that cut in the snow by our shoveling friend shows around 7-8 inches.  You can barely make out the huddled cars over in the parking lot to the left.

No maintenance worker clearing anything. I saw him with a brand new snowblower on Thurs. before the snow started.

 I wonder if the mail was delivered yesterday (you know the old saying, neither sleet, nor snow, nor dark of night...)

LOL at my last "snow" posting

Well, chuckling out loud at least.  I thought that was snow!  My blog-friend Gary Rith, in Ithica, I knew would laugh at it.  Now I'm able to see what real snow looks like.  Ah.  And Gary says this storm is not hitting them at all.

Out the front door at 7:30 am, Friday Jan. 22, 2016

From living room at 7:30 am

A few more inches at noon

And the balcony view at noon...

The glass of the storm door kept fogging up!

The snow blows horizontally at times, and then seems to quit completely.  I know the forecast says it will still be falling all day, however.  I'm staying "put."

first real snow

OK, a couple of days ago there was accumulation on cars and grass.  I didn't go out and see.  It didn't count for me.
But today it was coming down, and sticking to everything.  So I share a picture of what I'm calling the first real snow.

Not sure if the walks will be salted, or the parking lot plowed.  Lots to learn about living in an apartment community.

Unexpected utility problems

There was to be work on the water lines, so we had no access to the laundry room, and were to expect no water from 10:00 - 12:00 today.

But when I woke around 6 with a sense that something was different, I found out another utility problem.  The heat wasn't working, and even the little numbers on the alarm were black.  Yep, a power outage.

I called the Duke Power people, (all recordings of course) and said (without saying a word, cause they have my phone number and address) that the power was off.  I also signed up for text messages as to when it was being worked on as well as when it came back on.  That seemed silly, but then I realized some people still go to work and aren't home when the power is turned back on.

I rolled over and slept till 7:30 or so.  It wasn't really that cold, but the cat insisted on snuggling at my side when she usually is happy up on top of my head on the pillow.  I fed her, and slipped into my  bundled-up gear.

At 8 am I was on the way to the car, and hopefully someplace that had breakfast, as well as heat.  I met the maintenance man on the walk, as he was just arriving for work and finding the office had no power, nor the buildings like mine.  Two other large buildings did have power.  I gave him info that the Duke people had said it had been out since 4:30 am, and was due to be fixed by 11:00.

Then I drove to find a breakfast place.  My first 2 choices were closed still at 8 am.  What?  Don't people eat breakfast at breakfast time in this town?  So Denny's was the best choice.  And they had free wi-fi.  Excellent.

I got a booth and started updating people by emails and facebook.  And when I got done eating I watched some Netflix on my iPad.  Unfortunately it didn't automatically connect to the wi-fi signal, and I didn't think to check that for about an hour.  Oops, used some of our data plan there!

By then it was getting close to 11, so I headed on home.  Ah, the electric company trucks were all over the parking lot...and yet my parking space was empty.  AND right next to the transformer box which was being replaced.  So I parked carefully, watching the old equipment being lifted by the power truck's crane, and not making any limbs come off the tree above us both and land on my car.  And of course I had my camera out.  Apparently the problem was being fixed right at the end of my building.  Once the new transformer box was in place, it took another hour and a half before power was restored.

I did feel for the 4 people (sex undeterminate in the bundled clothes) working in 12 degrees. I know they were cold.  I stopped by the office to say hi to the staff, and to let them know Duke had changed their time of completion to 1:00 pm.

I went on home, and sat on my bed where the sunshine comes directly in and warms it a bit.  I admit to putting my coat across my legs.

Panther found a drawer open and promptly decided it was a warm cozy spot.  I decided I didn't want her making biscuits with her claws in my scarves, and got her back into a sunshine spot and closed the drawer!

The other good news is that I'm feeling so good I even climbed a flight of stairs.  (I was sure out of breath for a while at the top...but I accomplished it...straight up those 24 little guys!)

Swannanoa Valley Fine Arts League

Having joined this group of artists, I need to go over and learn more about it!

I'll let you know...

Where I have been...

It would be fun to say Japan.  Or perhaps Australia.  Or even to some favorite shops here in Black Mountain or Asheville, NC.  Sigh.  I've been to the doctor's office again.

Last Thursday I patiently awaited the medical records of our hospital to be sent from my visit THREE WEEKS prior to my doctor's appointment.  They never arrived.

So my doctor again took blood and got a pee-test.  I'd also had blood drawn by his office the day I went to the emergency room.  He apparently didn't like his own results.  Of course there were more things done to my blood at the hospital.

But for 2 months I've been experiencing extreme tiredness and fevers and chills, and some lung-related chest pains. (I did spend 3 days hospitalized with Pneumonia in early November.)

I'd even been asked by the ER doctor to keep a journal of the fevers and other symptoms.  So I read off the 3 weeks of results to my own doctor last Thursday, and he entered them into his chart.  But he didn't know what I had.  Since twice in that 3 weeks I'd actually felt good, almost normal, he said I'm getting better.

I contradicted him.  I'd just concluded that I was getting worse before I'd get better.

Since I've spent most of my time horizontal, I have no stamina for standing, walking or even sitting.  I haven't done any housework.  There's a pile of bedding on the floor waiting till I have energy to haul it to the laundry across the parking lot from my building. 

I was so grateful last week to have a friend from church volunteer when I asked for a ride to the doctor's office over 20 miles away.  I didn't think I would have the stamina to drive there and back.

I've run out of silverware and dishes because standing over the sink is so overwhelming to me.  As a potter, I've got more kinds of dishes on shelves, so I'll probably never run out of them.  And for some reason (am I a hoarder?) I have a small collection of plastic-ware forks and spoons.  (I've just about used them all up however!)

Today's early morning doctor's visit finally had the ER blood work results.  The doctor said I had negative results from his test for Mono. There was only a small possibility of a Urinary Tract Infection, which I've had no symptoms for, so we're not treating that.

He didn't have the results back yet for the test of Lyme Disease...but will call me if that is positive.  When I asked about the treatment for it, he said it's the same antibiotic which I just took for 10 days...which his Nurse Practitioner prescribed on the day she sent me first for a chest X-ray and then to ER.

I also have had some nausea, and lack of appetite.  Cooking has not been something I felt like doing, so I've been eating pretty light, except when I go pick up a meal and spread it over several meals.

The doctor said I have a "Mysterious Virus."

I just about jumped on him.  "What do you mean, 'Mysterious Virus?'"

He said, "There are a lot of viruses in a cluster similar to Mono, and it looks like this is one of those.  There are so many they haven't got names, or have been studied yet. Of course we'll see if the Lyme test is positive.  In the meantime, you're doing the right things to get better.  Rest, do as much as you feel like. Let me know if anything suddenly changes. I'll call you with the results of the Lyme test."

So I posted on Facebook that I've got my very own Mysterious Virus.  I even named it after myself. 
"Mysterious Barbara's Virus, MBV." Why not?

Now where are the dredgers and dump trucks?

Local news...follow up to the Lake Tomahawk dredging delay...

Check out this article in Black Mountain News.
To summarize, rain has made it impossible to start dredging, the decision as to when is up to the contractor at this point.



The good news is all that is happening at the Lakeview Center, now renamed Lakeview Center for Active Aging.

Here is a link to info about Lakeview Center,
and one to their January Newsletter.

Because I receive these in my email, I just received the Black Mountain Rec. Dept online version of the program guide for Winter and Spring 2016.  It's amazing.  And includes the rec. center that's actually now nearer me, Carver Center.  So I need to see about some of the things scheduled over here!

The first that caught my eye was this:

Carver Community Garden: This community garden will re-open with elevated beds in Spring 2016! These beds are great for people who have limited mobility - no kneeling or bending! Rental fee for the regular growing season is $20. Reserve a bed by contacting Jill at the Carver Center.

As I read through I thought, I have used just pots and planters for years, because kneeling was so uncomfortable.  Whow, I should really get involved here!  Later on I read that the beds have yet to be built, and no way I could help build them.  Drat.  I will still call and see about reserving a future bed.  I did keep some of those giant sunflower seeds from last year! 

Yep, I'm doing what all farmers do in January, thinking about which seeds...

Those catalogs are so beautiful.  

Where're the fish?

Lake Tomahawk in November, 2015...a beautiful spot for my walks around it, .55 miles each lap.

This was taken about 3 weeks ago.  There is a lot more mud, and a lot less water now.  I wonder where the fish go.

I also wonder when the crews are going to do the dredging to make it a deeper lake.  Got quite a job ahead of them.  In the meantime, I don't walk around the mud-hole.

Earth balls, and Earth Day.

A huge ball being handled by a lot of people...as seen in the last photo in this post.

Earth Day - Founded in 1970 as a day of education about environmental issues, Earth Day is now a globally celebrated holiday that is sometimes extended into Earth Week, a full seven days of events focused on green awareness. The brainchild of Senator Gaylord Nelson and inspired by the antiwar protests of the late 1960s, Earth Day was originally aimed at creating a mass environmental movement. It began as a “national teach-in on the environment” and was held on April 22 to maximize the number of students that could be reached on university campuses. By raising public awareness of air and water pollution, Nelson hoped to bring environmental causes into the national spotlight. (http://www.history.com/topics/holidays/earth-day)

I find it of interest that it wasn't until 2015 that the Paris Environmental Accord brought 196 nations together with some intention of doing something about the climate change of our earth.

 The first Earth Day, April 22, 1970.

First Earth Day, 1970.

Earth Ball game (New Games) - see the YouTube video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0C4qrcsSn0

I don't know when New Games came about, but they were very popular at Earth Day celebrations, a way for all that energy to be utilized in a fun way.

So when Sepia Saturday showed a crowd holding up a huge ball, I immediately flashed back to those Earth Ball games we played in the 70s. 



Go over to this site and see what other bloggers have shared on this theme...

Too much reality

Feeling feverish has left me with many moments where I'm not sure what I just experienced was part of the reality everyone shares.

Now I have a day of respite, and am wondering how to get inspired.  The fevers sometimes help, but today I'm just feeling dis-connected to my inner creative being.

Then I started running through my favorite blogs.  Sometimes one that comes from literary people will spark and idea.  Sometimes one from the great community of potters will give me something to think about.  And sometimes it's a wise commentary on current events...but less and less likely to be there.

Today Terri Windling gave me just the idea that needed to begin to ferment.  She writes a delightful blog, Myth and Moore, dealing with folk stories, great illustrations of same, and her own life in a wonderful Devon village in Britain.  And she apologized that this post was actually a repost...with new pictures.  Ah the pictures! 

And the concept she started me looking at...Secret Threads.  She quotes C. S. Lewis extensively, but the first two paragraphs grabbed me.

"You may have noticed," wrote  C.S. Lewis, "that the books you really love are bound together by a secret thread. You know very well what is the common quality that makes you love them, though you cannot put it into words: but most of your friends do not see it at all, and often wonder why, liking this, you should also like that.

"Again, you have stood before some landscape, which seems to embody what you have been looking for all your life; and then turned to the friend at your side who appears to be seeing what you saw -- but at the first words a gulf yawns between you, and you realise that this landscape means something totally different to him, that he is pursuing an alien vision and cares nothing for the ineffable suggestion by which you are transported.

The new pictures Terri shares are from Mr. Finch...who makes charming such an inadequate word for his hand crafted fiber animals.  His web site is Here.





So I'm enjoying being somewhat grounded, imagining a thread tied very securely to the base of a nearby tree, and totally floating away into the secret place that I've always enjoyed.  If I don't see you there, I at least will be smiling at my own joys.

Source: from The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis, published in The Centenary Press' "Christian Challenge" series in 1940

Throwback Thursday

A lidded tall jar in stoneware.  Mexico glaze, wiped thin for burnishing marks. 13"

Remembering Good Times Two

Remembering good times

With their permissions, I am sharing some photos of a great visit I recently had with my youngest son, (the pottery teacher) and his partner.

Their holiday gift to me was a full day at the Biltmore Estate.  It was a day of such pleasures!

I accepted my limitations and didn't "DO" everything, so frequently enjoyed sitting around while the younger generation took off to see something they really wanted to see.

There are more, beautiful people, beautiful scenery...tomorrow!

A Top Potter Blogger

Thanks so much to Pottery Making Bloggers for giving me this honor.  I'm number 8 on the list this year!

Please click and go over to see some of the other bloggers.../top-pottery-blogs-of-2015/

I can't say anything more right now, because I'm on an enforced break from most of my life, just managing survival stuff as I deal with some unknown thing that has me on my back most of the time.