LIFE'S BETTER IN THE MOUNTAINS

Friday, October 30, 2015

We Love Lucy


We seem to have had a streak of bad luck in our house lately.  First a new refrigerator and then a new washer and dryer.  And now, when we have had some really chilly mornings, our new (less than a year installed) fireplace with gas logs failed to work.  The system is fully enclosed and can only be opened by repair people.  (Not that we would have tried anyway.)

So a repairman came out and set to work.  They had identified the problem from a video I sent showing the logs igniting and then promptly going out.  And he fixed it easily.  While he was here he did the routine annual service work so we are all set.

When we have repairmen in the house Lucy considers it her duty to watch them carefully.  Our Ellie, on the other hand, would have greeted the repairman but when he brought out anything noisy she would have skedaddled to her crate for security.  At any rate, Lucy sat in front of my chair the entire time the workman was here.  She watched closely at every little thing he did and was not at all concerned with the very loud noise of his vacuum.



Doesn't look so hard to me.
I'll bet I could do that.
If only I had those magic thumbs they talk about.
,


 The mountains have been so beautiful this fall.  We took a day to go over to the Biltmore Estate to walk some of the trails there.  It was sunny and cool.  Perfect weather. (You might want to click on the photographs to appreciate the beauty.)

 The Biltmore House from the "back" side.




 One of the ponds on the estate.

We did not take Lucy with us.  Instead, we engaged our dog walker to visit her while we were gone.  We do take her to the trails in the nearby National Forest and State Forest and for rides on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  When Ellie was alive they had such fun together, but Lucy still enjoys the trips.


Ellie (left) and Lucy in October 2012.  They were resting before we started back  home. They had spent a great deal of time running around in a circle and jumping over a fallen log.




 Tomorrow is Halloween.  It's a big holiday and a big festival here in Brevard.  We are in Transylvania County after all.  The local newspaper prints a special vampire banner to replace its usual header.  We will go down tomorrow to watch the festivities.  We have no trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood anymore.  The only ones we ever had were the grandsons of a neighbor.  Alas, they have outgrown trick or treat.  Of course I must buy some Halloween candy just in case someone might come by.  (That's my excuse and I'm sticking with it.)


Today's quote is from Mark Twain:
"Everyone is a moon and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody."

Halloween is the perfect time to bring out your dark side.

I loved this little saying the first time I heard it.
And I still do.



HAVE A SAFE AND WONDERFUL HALLOWEEN
AND A GREAT WEEK AHEAD





15 comments:

Cheryl said...

I do so love to see the girls together. Such companions :)

Glad all your appliances are up and running now .

Beautiful autumnal scene.....love the lake with the backdrop of trees.

Yes Halloween..............my grandchildren are just too excited.

Have a fun weekend.

Carolina Linthead said...

I love Lucy watching the repairman! Beautiful fall in Ohio, too...really stunning at times. Happy Halloween! I dress as a pirate every year and give out candy to the local kids. Many of them are not living in the best of circumstances, so I enjoy seeing them smile at the gift of a bit of chocolate or fruity-flavored goodness.

NanaNor's said...

Happy Friday. I always love it when our pups are more protective of us; our Sadie was never protective, had a lab personality until one day a young guy came to wash our windows(the only time we've ever had them professionally done)and Sadie almost went after him-don't know why, but I was thankful she was at my side. Loved your photos. We've had a very bright and long Autumn here and I love it; wonder if the rain had anything to do with it. Have a fantastic weekend.
Hugs, Noreen

Vicki Lane said...

Happy Halloween! I see you're making the most of these beautiful days -- lovely pictures!

Anonymous said...

Lucy is so cute watching that repairman. Good dog, making sure the work is done right! Love the photos of fall there. So beautiful. Happy Halloween!

~Kim at Golden Pines~ said...

Glad you're all repaired! :-) We have a mix of dogs that need to be crated, and others that wouldn't care if repairmen were here or not.

Glad you're enjoying the fall, it never seems to last long enough, does it?

The Bug said...

Such a cute furry supervisor :)

Mary Lee said...

I'm so glad that you can assume your chilly morning routine-- toast by the fire with your morning coffee.

With the parade of technicians, repairmen, and installers coming around so often, your neighbors must be starting to talk!

Happy Halloween.

Busy Bee Suz said...

I remember when you got your fireplace updated last year; so glad you were able to easily fix it for the winter.
Lucy is such a good girl! Cocoa tends to get up in repairmen's business. Yesterday she jumped INTO the truck of a worker's that was on our property. She's not shy.
Have a great weekend and enjoy your candy stash.

Lowcarb team member said...

Lucy is so adorable watching the workman ... so pleased you were able to get it fixed easily.

Enjoy your Halloween weekend and a Happy November - I really don't know where this year has gone to!

All the best Jan

KB said...

I love the quote about the moon. I feel like that myself these days, trying hard to keep the dark side hidden.

I love seeing the memory of Ellie and Lucy after autumn play. They were quite a pair but I'm glad that Lucy has adjusted. Our dogs always want to "help" the repairmen so we put them in the bedroom while workers are here. That is, all workers aside from our housecleaner, who has been our friend for 15 years. Even Shyla doesn't move for a vacuum anymore. Our sweet friend just vacuums around her and then asks her to move to a different spot! When I'm home for it, the routine makes me smile.

Happy Halloween!

Pat said...

Good girl Lucy ! The fall foliage is always a pleasure to see. Many trick or treaters here tonight ...really enjoy the little children.

Barbara Rogers said...

Enjoy the warmth of your fireplace (newly fixed and serviced!) So glad Lucy is a good supervisor. And of course that candy if for little goblins and ghosties...and the inner child of several adults too!

Nance said...

One of our cats used to be a Supervisor Cat. Not helpful at all, but very Involved.

The Biltmore is such a lovely property! I always enjoy visits there, and knowing one of my favourite films used it as a site (The Last of the Mohicans--with Daniel Day-Lewis) increases my enjoyment.

NCmountainwoman said...

Thanks for your comments, everyone.

Cheryl - Hope you and the grands had a grand time.

Linthead - You make a great pirate

NanaNor - It has been a beautiful autumn, hasn't it? This weekend's rain and wind have removed most of the leaves and it feels as if winter is approaching.

Vicki - Yes, we have been on the move and enjoyed the fall. And I have the dust in my house to prove it.

Robin - Yes, it has been beautiful

Kim - No, it's never long enough. That's the only negative about the season. We do sometimes put up a gate to keep Lucy downstairs.

Bug - She certainly watches closely.

Mary - Funny you should say that. Our neighbors across the street are former NSA and they actually do watch our house to see who comes and goes. And they are sufficiently rude (or neighborly) enough to ask us what we had done.

Suz - LOL I'm not at all sure that Lucy would jump into someone else's vehicle.

Jan - It does go by too quickly it seems.

KB - Lucy does not mind the vacuum at all either and tends to move directly to the space I plan to vacuum next. Ellie, on the other hand, headed straight to her crate until the vacuum was put away.

Patsi - I do miss having little trick or treaters.

Barbara - We had no little goblins or ghosties so I guess I'll just have to eat the candy myself.

Nance - I'm also a great fan of Last of the Mohicans. Much of it was filmed in our own Dupont Forest not five miles from our house.