Deja Vu, All Over Again

Here we go again.
My loyal readers will remember how The Fuzz destroyed a chainsaw a while back. Well, it would seem that he did it again. What you see here is what is left of his Brand New Little Green Chainsaw.
This time as the pitiless tree fell, it snatched the saw right out of his hands and pinned it to the ground. This is the result.
Now he has not one, but two ruined guide bars. But on the plus side, this time only the bar and chain were ruined. So after another trip to the Home Improvement Store, I'm happy to report thet he is back in business.

Peppers

Some Jalapeno and Habanaros from the Garden
(Those Habanaros kick ass)

Nerves of Steel (2)

Ah! This is what was supposed to happen. But it had to be done in a roundabout manner. The Fuzz's Sweetie has her own way of doing things, (don't we all) and her system was used this time. And with *success!

But as was mentioned in a very recent post, this lady, while not being attired in appropriate "Renaissance" style, displayed "Nerves of Steel" in this situation.

*Unfortunately, to see a larger pix, you will have to go to that previous and less successful post. Again, I say ##%&*%!!!

Nerves of Steel

Some more from the Renaissance Festival. I don't know why all I can post is a *giant pix, but that's how it is today. I'm not so sure I would have been so calm after having watched the first part of these guys show.

*You'll have to click on the pix to see the whole thing! ##*%%#!

(I hope I can figure out what is going wrong here!)

Gypsy Geoff

They finally got him!

Yes they got Gypsy Geoff. I believe I mentioned enjoying the "various entertainers" here at the Renaissance Festival. The man was obviously a nut case, and here he's being put in that Straitjacket.And now they're chaining poor Geoff up!

But he actually encouraged these people to do this to him. He thinks this is better than getting a "real job".


The Fuzz suspected that old Geoff here had something up his sleeve. But how could he get it out in this condition? Or more to the point, how could he get himself out of this condition?


But not to worry.

First he wiggles out of the chains,

Next out of that Straitjacket.

And Gypsy Geoff is a free man once again.


What do you do with a guy like this?


The Fuzz coughed up some of those dollar coins in his purse. I mean, wouldn't you? How often do you get to see this stuff.


I wonder if the policemens even try to lock up this guy.

Return To The Renaissance

It was that time again

Time for our annual trip to times past, back to the Renaissance. It was a cool morning, but that was fine for a trip to the Renaissance Festival. The Fuzz likes it there because he can walk around with his Broad Sward and not get arrested.
Soon after we arrived, we came upon the Dance. This may have been their way of keeping warm.
It's more fun to go there in costume. It is sometimes hard to tell who's part of the "show" and who's just there for fun.
But the all the Dancers were having fun, and staying warm.
The Fuzz, His Sweetie and Young Daughter all dress up for their annual frolic in the renaissance. But this is not The Fuzz. I'm not sure exactly who it is. But it just goes to show that you never know who or what you might run in to over there.
We mostly just walk around and blend in with the rest of the weirdos. We like to look at the stuff in the shops, but it's mostly too high for us poor folks. But there is a lot of "cool stuff" and one can get ideas for how to make one's own "cool stuff".
And some of the various entertainers are fun to watch. The Fuzz always carries a bunch of dollar coins to tip them. Paper dollars are so un-renaissance.
We'll have even more pix up soon.

One More Step

The latest issue of the local "Shopper Paper" just came out. The Fuzz borrowed a copy from a guy at work. Inside, he found this.
Moving in an uncharacteristically timely manner, he called. (You will of course forgive me for not posting the number here) After receiving an encouraging response, The Fuzz and His Sweetie slid into their motor vehicle and headed up the road for their rendezvous with destiny.
And here is the result.
Yes, there is still a lot more to be done. There are papers to sign and money must change hands. This one will have to be moved to the place prepared. The place must be prepared! But this is one more big step in the continuing story of the Big Move.

Bottled Water Scam?

I sometimes wonder about this-
" Tests on leading brands of bottled water turned up a variety of contaminants often found in tap water, according to a study released Wednesday by an environmental advocacy group."
The Fuzz is not thrilled with "City Water", but he will drink it. But he does prefer well water, or spring water. Creek water in the mountains can be good too. But when I read this stuff-
"...the faulty premise that a contaminant is a health concern "even if it does not exceed the established regulatory limit or no standard has been set.""
And-
"In some cases, it appears bottled water is no less polluted than tap water..."
Looks like it could be a scam.

Chores

Back home from our adventures. Now it was time for a few chores. There was the usual firewood stuff. The Fuzz had to cut some of the longer pieces down a bit to fit in the various stoves. While he was at all that, he gave the stovepipe a good brushing. Then His Sweetie and he pulled a few weeds out of the garden.
Today, he was confronted with this Funky Fishtank Filter.
So now we have Happy Fishes.
And then, there were all these ashes in the heater. Actually, this was not too bad. But with these warm afternoons, and the fire being out, it was a good chance to get them before laying up a new fire.
And so life goes on, not a lot of excitement. But if the weather is right, there may be something for this weekend.

Big City Craft Attack

It was off to the Big City again.

We had a couple things in mind. One was to check out the Canvas Monkey, a gallery, that was closing down.
This was an opportunity to find great stuff, cheap (we hoped).
The other thing was to visit the "Craft Attack". The Fuzz and His Sweetie had heard about this on a visit to a local Tattoo Parlor, or should I say "Studio".
It was a bit of a drive down there, and this is not what one likes to find at the end of a long drive.
There are a lot of things to see there in the Big City. Especially- Confusing, One Way Streets! This is why The Fuzz usually has His Sweetie drive in these situations. She does have more Big City Experience.
The Big City was really booming until a couple weeks ago. Here's something they were working on. They have a lot of Big Banks there in the Big City, but it seems that somehow, the Big Money, has vanished. The Fuzz is not convinced that the Big Money was really there to begin with, but then he doesn't have much to do with Big Money anyway, so what does he know.
But we were there for the Craft Attack, and it was still there. This is sort of an overview of things.

Here's a couple examples of the stuff we saw there. This lady made a bunch of stuff like this. We were impressed with the detail. This is all different types of wood all fitted together.

The Fuzz could not really get pictures of everything there of course. And to be honest, some of it did not impress him. But there was a lot of nice stuff there. And The Fuzz's Sweetie and Young Daughter picked up a few items.
There was a good bit of jewelry as might be expected, and a lot of beads. The Fuzz was impressed with this little Tree Necklace.
It was time to move on and we slipped across town to the Monkey Place. It had been pretty well cleaned out before we got there, but there was still some cool stuff left. The guys who were running it are moving over the mountains to Tennessee. Young Daughter and The Sweetie picked up a few more things. The Fuzz got a Tiny Little Keyring Flask for half price. It only holds a thimble full though.

After this, we headed back to the Sticks. We spent the evening at home and watched a couple of flicks. We had "American Splendor" from the Netflix. It is pretty interesting, and we'll probably watch it again before we send it back. The Fuzz recommends it.

Into the Mountains, (cont.)

Just a short way ahead lay the Parkway.

The Fuzz had a plan. He would ride north to Mount Mitchel, and then maybe farther, depending on the time. But about 1/4 mile up, The Fuzz was faced with this situation. This is the sort of a thing that could be referred to as a Bummer.

And so, The Fuzz decided to just make the best of things and take the detour. It turned out he ended up heading up I 40, at 65mph. This was not his idea of a pleasant ride in the mountains. And nothing like the Parkway with a top speed of 45.

So after crossing the Eastern Continental Divide for the 2nd time,he took a detour, from the detour, onto US 70, a much less intense experience.

Eventually, his detour got back to the "official" detour and he once more ascended to the Blue Ridge.
Here's a view from one of the many "Over Looks". Far below, he could hear a train slowly climbing the mountain. Although this was not the "official" railroad over look, he did catch a glimpse of the train though a break in the trees far below.

The Tummy was beginning to remind The Fuzz about that sandwich stashed in that saddlebag, so he figured it was time to break it out. Here's his Little Beatup Honda taking a rest at the Sandwich Stop. The Fuzz washed it down with some water since beer and bikes are a bad combination on mountain roads.

Here is the Cool Lookout at the Picnic Place,

And a bit of the view.

You can see why they call it the "Blue Ridge". You may also notice that offensive looking building there on top of the mountain. I guess that's "Progress".

Well, The Fuzz headed a bit farther north, passed Linville Falls, then back down the mountain, and headed for home many miles away. All in all, he had a good ride and did get to enjoy a bit of the mountains.

Along the Way He Saw...

On his way across the mountain, The Fuzz noticed a number of "Vintage" Automobiles.
Here at this gas station he saw these.

That Black One was pretty, but he really liked this one.

And *check out this Engine here.


We've got a Rocket V-8 Oldsmobile, with 3 Deuces.

Is this a Classic? or what.

The Fuzz even likes the Paint Job, but he does have a weird taste in these matters.

It seems there was some sort of a car show back in Lake Lure that he missed in passing. But he was headed for the Parkway anyway. He grabbed a sandwich and stuffed it into his saddlebag for later, and headed off to the Parkway for Excitement and Adventure. Little did he know what lay ahead.

To be continued...

*As always, click on the pix for a closer look!

Into the Mountains

Well, The Fuzz did make it up to the mountains. It was a rather cool morning so he pulled on those Long Johns under his Leathers. He enjoyed a back road ride, and then, stopped to top off his tank, and for some Coffee and Pie at the Waffle House, which is always fun.
Then, it was time to head into the mountains and Lake Lure.
Here is a look at the lake.

Down there just to the left of center, there was something that seemed to be amiss. So The Fuzz zoomed in with his powerful zoomer and here's what we have. It seems that some body's boathouse has seen better days.

He got these shots from near the Dam. Like most lakes around here this is not a "Natural" lake.
Lake Lure is a pretty lake. One time The Fuzz looked into taking his little Canoe up there. But when he checked into it, the folks up there were not very encouraging. It seems they like to keep the "Riffraff" out. But I think, if you work things out right, you could go to the Dam Marina and get on the lake someway.
But if you just want to go swimming, this is the place. Of course nobody was swimming that morning.
Just up the road from Lake Lure is Chimney Rock. I regret to say that The Fuzz did not stop here, so there are no Pix. From here the road winds up to Hickory Nut Gap, and passes by Bat Cave. The Fuzz says that regrettably, he did not see The Dark Knight.
He followed the road up and though the "Gap" and headed down toward Asheville where he hoped to pick up the Parkway, and a Full Tank Of Gas.

This was not necessarily an easy thing to do. For some reason I'm not sure I understand, there hasn't been a lot of gas around here for a while now. However, if one is persistent, there is regular unleaded available, for a price.

And so, after passing a few empty stations, The Fuzz found his gas. Now it was on to the Parkway and Further Adventures.

Finally Falling

It's that time of year again.

Those Leaves are falling again. The mornings are cool. The Fuzz's Sweetie made Apple Pie.

But these leaves don't seem very colorful. I believe I heard once, that Dry Weather makes the most colorful leaves. We have had a bit of rain lately, which is a good thing, really. We even have water in our well, which is a big improvement over last year.

The Fuzz is hoping to ride the motorcycle up into the mountains this weekend. That is, if they have gas up there. But it looks like they might by now. Maybe we can get him to bring back some pix.