The Blahs

The Blahs have been upon me for awhile now. Yes, I’ve been in a period of depression for about six months and I’ve been doing everything in my power to battle it. But for the past few weeks I’ve been even more blah.

Our vacation to the mountains was fun but I didn’t thoroughly enjoy myself. I didn’t let my hair down and throw myself into the fun. Ever since we came back home I’ve been even more constrained.

Before we left on vacation I met with my psychologist and she suggested some personality testing. The testing would show the areas in which we need to concentrate so I could hurry up and start feeling like me again. I agreed and we scheduled a date for after the mountains trip. That block of testing loomed in my mind the entire time we were gone. I dreaded coming back to it. For some inexplicable reason I didn’t want to do it.

Testing day came and went and I survived somehow. But the worst was yet to come… The appointment when the results were revealed. I agonized over it. Today was the day and somehow yet again I survived. I’m not a horrible monster. I don’t need to be locked away for the safety of the public. I’m just a person with depression. But yet I tore myself up inside about the testing and the subsequent results.

From the day THREE WEEKS AGO that I scheduled the testing time until today I haven’t purposely done anything I enjoy. And all those fun things I did on vacation with my guys… I didn’t enjoy as much as I should have or could have. Instead I spent all of that quality family time expending energy torturing myself.

Why? That’s what we start to figure out next week.

But what I really want to know now is do I get a vacation do-over?

More Grocery Store (& Shopping) Fun

While in North Carolina we visited many different stores from the grocery store to an antiques shop. The boys and I managed to find some products that made us giggle and sent us reaching for our cell phone cameras. After my initial fit of laughter, some products made me wonder what marketing department let it out the door. Please don't judge me too harshly... I was with teenage boys.


Bacon flavored mayonnaise... Mmmm... only in North Carolina.



Sorry Gropy. But it is kinda funny.



Fazermint... The Official Candy of Star Trek.



Dagoba... The Official Candy of Star Wars.



Photon Freedom... The Official Mini-Flashlight of Star Trek.



"That's what she said."



A very good reason to use the entire cucumber all at one time.



Boing!



Yes, that's a Victorian-era American cut glass toupee stand.



The fanciest holder/dispenser for your ball of string EVER.

Photo Challenge: Week 26

Week 26 marks the halfway point in the Photo Challenge. Maybe one of these days I'll read the manual that came with my camera!


Keep your eye on the road



Center of a Sago Palm



Magnolia



The neighbor's crepe myrtle is blooming

14 Years Later

Fourteen years ago today I was a little busy. It was the day G-Man entered the world with two dislocated shoulders. It was the day my mother and my BFF Marcia provided moral support and back rubs for endless hours. It was the day my mother and Marcia got to hold G-Man before me. A fact that none of the three of them let me forget. It was a rough day. It was the day Mr. A became a big brother and I became the mother of two boys. It was a wonderful day. It was G-Man's Birth Day.




Here we are 14 years later. I can hardly believe it. Happy Birthday G-Man! I love you bunches!

Biltmore Estate

While in North Carolina we traveled to Asheville to visit the Biltmore Estate. I've wanted to go there for years but never had the opportunity. I even lived in North Carolina for three years and never got a chance to visit. I was excited to finally go.

The Biltmore House is huge. It's grandiose. I've often wondered why someone would need a house that large. I still wonder. So I was very pleased to learn that George Vanderbilt intended for the estate to be sefl-sufficient and it was with a working farm, dairy, and plant nursery. The Vanderbilts also went to great lengths to support and enrich the local community.

I didn't take as many photos as I would have liked for two reasons. First, photography isn't allowed inside the house. I was disappointed. Second, I felt awful that day. For some reason my asthma was really bad. My chest hurt and my fingernails were blue. The only thing that got me through the day was sheer determination.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable day... really. We ate lunch in the former stables and visited the winery in the former dairy. The gardens were my favorite. I'd like to go back there every blooming season!




View of the house from the Italian Garden. Look at that spiral staircase!


There many stone carvings all over the house including plenty of gargoyles.




This is my favorite gargoyle.




Kiss the monkey!


Beautiful views but you can see how hazy it was. A bad air quality day.






The wisteria had already finished blooming but I was able to find one lone bunch hanging from the pergola.


As we alked through the gardens, I named all the trees I recognized. Mr. A was amazed that I knew so many species. I then exlained to him that we had many of them in the yard in Pines Lake. Dogwood, red oak, all kinds of maples, birch, weeping cherry, wepping willow, etc...

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Our trip to the mountains was fun and refreshing but there were a few things about the visit that took some adjusting. The relatives’ house we stayed at is at an elevation of 4,200 feet. After living at sea level for the past 13 years, the change in elevation took some getting used to. With my asthma I got winded going up a flight of stairs the first couple of days. I also felt a little claustrophobic with the looming oak, maple, and hemlock trees. Only in certain spots could I look up and see blue sky. Everywhere else the view was canopied. The surroundings were beautiful but different than what I've experienced the decade or so. It was odd to look out a second story window and see the branches of a gigantic rhododendron brushing against the glass. The hardest thing that G-Man had to endure was the roads. All the steep hills, curves, bends, and swerves made the kid a little green at times.

Some of my favorite moments? Catching fireflies, wading in a river, and renewing my love affair with Sweet Tea. Oh! I also tried fly fishing for the first time and I actually caught an itty bitty brook trout! But the best part by far??? Sleeping with the windows open! Heaven!

Onto the slideshow!



Dry Falls, Cullasaja River, Highlands, NC



I attempted to acheive the "soft water" look with the falls but I didn't quite get the exposure right.



View down the gorge from the falls.





G-Man standing behind the falls. I wanted to take a photo from behind the falls but my camera would have gotten soaked.



We went gem mining! We sifted through buckets of silt from the Cullasaja River at a sluice. We found tiny pieces of amethysts, garnets, sapphires, smokey quartz, clear topaz, citrine, rubies, moonstone, aquamarine, amazonite, and quartz. In the above photo on the left is a raw garnet. On the right is a garnet that we had cut, polished and set.



While sitting on the deck at the house, the main entertainment was the hummingbird activity. These birds are amazing to watch and very hard to capture on film. I finally put my camera down and just watched. Sometimes 6 or 7 birds would jockey for a spot at the feeder.







We really missed Molly. Luckily, Nigel was willing to share his love with us.



Another view of the mysterious-looking Leatherleaf Mahonia.



We took the boys to Sliding Rock in Cashiers, NC. It's an organic waterslide. All natural fun!







My first catch with a fly rod! This little guy was quickly released. We fished the Cullasaja River and waded about a 1/2 mile upstream. My Sweetie and Mr. A wore waders. G-Man and I toughed it out with our rolled up shorts. The water temp was in the 50s! Mr. A was the only one who came out dry. I went up to my waist. My Sweetie slipped and fell trying to unhook my line on a snag and water got into his waders. But G-Man won the prize. He slipped off a boulder into a pool face first.



We ate...



...and we took photos!

Photos of the Biltmore Estate coming soon!

Photo Challenge: Week 25

While on vacation this past week I had plenty of opportunities to take photos and I took plenty of photos. But I didn't take as many as I could have because I actually put the camera down and got out there and did things. After going through all of my shots for the week, I came to the conclusion that my best photos were of the gardens at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. I couldn't decide on a favorite. I warn you now... there are a lot of flowers.



Sliding Rock, Cashiers, NC




No clue




White border flower




Border plant




Iris




Water Lilies, Biltmore Estate




Dragonfly on Water Lily, Biltmore Estate




Papyrus, Biltmore Estate




Pink Daisy, Biltmore Estate




Grapes, Biltmore Estate




Black-eyed Susan, Biltmore Estate




Lavender, Biltmore Estate




View from Whiteside Mountain, Highlands, NC