S T A C Y V E R B

Day trip to Amicalola Falls

On Monday we took advantage of both having the day off and drove up to north Georgia to enjoy a perfect autumn day.

Here I am, admiring the scenery at beautiful Amicalola Falls State Park.  (I should have had my shades on, so I wouldn't look so squinty.) 

We had a delicious lunch at the restaurant in the park lodge.  In the lobby of the lodge, a huge plush bear greeted visitors.  I wanted to get a picture of Adverb with it.  There was a sign posted that read, "Do not climb on the bear," but Adverb found another way to get an action shot with the beast.

That's my husband, ladies and gentleman.  Never a dull moment with this guy.  :)

The park had a couple of nice wheelchair-friendly trails to the falls.   Above, the view from the top of the falls.

And here we are at the bottom.  The falls are 729 feet high--a bit of trivia I learned during our visit.  Also, Amicalola means "tumbling waters" in Cherokee. 

As we meandered along the scenic route back to Atlanta, we stopped at an orchard to get some apples and admire other harvesty sights.  I hope you all are having a lovely autumn, wherever you may be!

Adoption day for foster kittens

As you know, for the past month, we've had a pair of adorable kittens lodging with us.  We've had great fun helping them make friends with humans, and watching them grow, play, and learn to eat solid food.  With all these skills in place, it was time for them to leave the proverbial nest.

Here they are, about 7 weeks old, posing for one final pic with their proud foster people.  And then...

...the happy transfer to adoptive mom, Molly, and her boyfriend, Will.  Baby girl kitten (with Will) now goes by the name Jessie and baby boy kitten (in all his fluffy glory) is now named Sulley. 

It was a bittersweet moment.  We'll miss these little cuties, but are so happy we could find them a good home with someone we know, and that they will be together.

Bon voyage, foster kittens!

Bayerische socks

Yesterday I finished a project I've been working on since (according to my notes) August 20.  If I may brag, I think these socks are possibly the most gorgeous thing I've ever knit.  They are certainly the most complicated. 

I can't take credit for the beauty of the yarn (Miss Babs Yummy Sock in color French Marigold) or the pattern (Bayerische by Eunny Jang), but I will gladly take full credit for the stick-to-it-ness of knitting intricately cabled socks on 96 stitches on a size 0 needle (that's 2 mm, folks).  

Were there times when I was so sick of looking at this project that I thought about stuffing it in the closet and forgetting about it?  Oh, yes.  But did I?  Nope.  Am I glad I stuck it out and finished these beauties?  Absolutely.  I'm triple-pleased because they're tiny little works of art, because I had the skills to make them, and because they are useful objects that will keep my feet warm.

Monica visits from Raleigh

This week one of my bestest buds was in town for a work-related thingie and we got to spend some time together.  Monica and I met in college 20 (yikes) years ago and she currently lives in Raleigh, NC.  Saturday night, Monica and Christy and I gathered at my house for an evening of fun.

Monica brought a bottle of this wine, which I hadn't tried before but now definitely recommend.

Christy spent some quality time with boy foster kitten and my official party mascot from our college days, Eager Beaver.

As you can see, girl foster kitten felt very comfortable hanging out with Monica!  Good friends and a cute kitten...hmmm, what's missing from this picture?  Oh, I know...

...a second cute kitten! :)  They are such social little creatures* already, and really enjoy climbing on people.

We had a great evening playing board games, drinking wine, and ordering Chinese food.  As often happens when I'm with Monica and Christy, I laughed until I cried.  I laughed until my face hurt.  And isn't that the best sign of a good visit?  Yo, Slick...come back soon!

*FOSTER KITTEN UPDATE: One of Adverb's co-workers wants to adopt both of them together!  They should be weaned in another couple of weeks and ready to go to their permanent home.  Hurray! 

Sporty style

Last year I received two yards of this Steelers fabric as a gift (thank you, Carrie!) and wasn't sure exactly what I wanted to do with it.  I thought about pillows, something comfy for lounging around on game day.  I also considered making pajamas. 

Ultimately, I decided what I really wanted to do was make a kind of girly-shaped tailored top out of it.  It would be unexpected, and fun, and quite wearable for the early part of the season when it's not yet cold enough here in the ATL to wear my Steelers sweatshirt.  So, recently I got around to tackling (har har) this project, and here are the results.

I'm very pleased with this.  I love the feminine shape of it and the peplum that ties at the waist--it's girly without being frilly.  Cute with jeans or black pants or a casual black skirt.

PROJECT DETAILS

Pattern: Vogue 8078 (now out of print), View B

Fabric: 100% cotton print; not sure who makes it but there's some online here.

Fun with foster kittens

Yes, that's right, KITTENS, plural.  Later the same day I posted about the baby kitten who had appeared at my house, I saw the mama cat (yes, this mama cat) carry a second baby up the driveway and deposit it in the rosemary bush with the other kitten.

The good news is, the mother is hanging around and taking care of the little cuties.  The bad news is, there is a family of "stray" felines living on our porch (again).  The other good news is, they're really damn cute.  Witness...

Soggy kittens snuggling on a blankie after a rain storm.

Baby girl kitten cuddling Adverb's arm.

Nap time!  Boy kitten (first to arrive) on left, girl kitten on right.

We took many shots to get this one picture.  They were being wiggly.

Baby girl kitten belly!

We estimate they are about four weeks old now.  In a few more weeks they'll be able to be weaned and to get adopted.  Since we've been petting them since they arrived, they should never fear people, so that is already one step up from their mother.  (Although I have to say, she has been very generous in letting us handle and play with them--hasn't hissed or growled about it at all.)

Sigh.  I'm sad that there are more "stray" kittens in the world, but glad they found us so we can help them.

Happy anniversary to us!

Today Adverb and I are celebrating our sixth wedding anniversary.  At left is the earliest known photo of us ever taken together.  It was snapped at Manuel's Tavern in early 1996.  What is more hilarious about this picture--the crazy giant glasses we're both wearing?  The face he's making?  The fact that I appear totally oblivious that I'm being attacked by a little soldier guy on a stick?  Or that this bizarre mating ritual apparently worked on me?  You be the judge.

Happy anniversary, sweetie! xoxoxoxoxo

We already have plenty of these, thanks

You know how sometimes you're in your living room on a beautiful Saturday, and the windows are open, and you hear a noise outside that sounds like a kitten, but then you say to yourself, "No, that's not a kitten, that's just a bird that sounds like a kitten."  Yeah, well...

...at my house, all too often, it really is a kitten.  Sigh.  Seriously, what am I supposed to do with this?

Shopping for banned books and more in Asheville

September 26-October 3 is Banned Books Week, a "national celebration of the freedom to read."  Libraries and book stores around the country are holding events this week to raise awareness of the fact that each year, individuals and groups attempt to have hundreds of books removed from schools and libraries.

According to the American Library Association, the most frequently challenged "classic" book in America is The Great Gatsby.  With this in mind, I bought a copy of it while I was in Asheville.  I've read it before, but did not own my own copy.  I got this one at Downtown Books & News, a great used book store on North Lexington.

Celebrate Banned Books Week by buying a frequently challenged book at your favorite local book store.  Share your favorite challenged books with young readers!  Check out this link for more ideas on fighting censorship in your community.

While I'm giving a shout-out to Downtown Books & News, I'd also like to mention some other businesses I recommend in downtown Asheville:

Beads and Beyond - gorgeous gemstones and lots more, in the cute little Wall Street neighborhood.

Chevron Trading Post & Bead Co. - also on N. Lexington, this bead shop had (among other things) probably the best selection of seed beads I've ever seen outside of a catalog.  They also had a comfy couch by a fireplace, great music playing, and a big, fat, friendly cat.  I did not want to leave!

Earth Guild - For the more esoteric crafts, this store on Haywood has lots of supplies that are hard to find anywhere else.  Spinning, candlemaking, basketry, rugmaking...just to name a few.  I bought some wool dye there.

Flying Frog Cafe - It's a fine dining establishment downstairs, but upstairs (where we ate) the Flying Frog Bar serves drinks and lighter meals.  It's on Battery Park Ave. and has a very eclectic menu.  The food was delicious and they made a really good mimosa (at dinner--how decadent!).

Malaprops - If you don't want to buy your books used from DB & N, buy them new at Malaprops!  A great little store on Haywood, just up the hill from Earth Guild, they also have a cafe.

Support small businesses at home and when you travel!

Weekend in Asheville & western NC

Over the weekend we headed to Asheville, North Carolina, so Adverb could attend the annual conference of the South East Chapter of the National Cartoonist Society.  This is always a fun gathering.  The Society's Asheville membership had worked hard to show us all a good time.

Friday night: Carolina barbecue and live bluegrass at The Fiddlin' Pig.  I bought a T-shirt from the Pig that says "Gettin' Piggy With It."  Ha!  I especially enjoyed the sweet potato fries.

Steve H. was dressed for the bluegrass, but maybe not excited about having his picture taken.

Saturday the cartoonists attended meetings and presentations all day.  The highlight was the guest of honor, Jack Davis, of MAD magazine fame.  Everyone reports that Jack was a very sweet gentleman.  At dinner, he petted my hair in a charming, non-creepy way.

While all these meetings were going on, I was getting some work of my own done in the hotel room, as well as swimming in the heated pool.

Who knew the cartoonists were such a multi-talented bunch?  A jam session broke out in the hotel ballroom on Saturday night.  I ended up doing a duet of "Jackson" (sadly, no footage of my performance is available) with some random guy, who I later learned was a filmmaker from Michigan working on a documentary about MAD.

After the conference ended on Sunday, Adverb and I explored the great shopping and dining opportunities in downtown Asheville.  (More blog coverage on this topic coming soon!)  

Monday, we spent the whole day driving back to Atlanta via the long, scenic way.  It was a lovely day to explore the countryside.

While on another road trip in NC several years ago, we had seen a million billboards assuring us that we were very near Harrah's Cherokee Casino, and yet we never actually saw it.  This time, we drove right up to it, completely by accident.  This cracked us up to no end, so we just had to go in and play some slot machines for a little while.  We ended up $9.00 in the hole.  Oh wait, correction, make that $8.75--on the way out, I found a quarter in the parking lot!

More lovely scenery in the Blue Ridge area of western NC.  Fall was definitely in the air.

We stopped for a late lunch at this nice spot on the Nantahala River. 

Our last visit before heading home was to the John C. Campbell Folk School.  (Long-time Stacyverb readers may remember that this is where Adverb took a class in the art of kaleidoscope-making last fall.)  We had a nice time exploring the grounds of the Folk School, including this nice fence dedicated to the different arts.  These were two of my favorite panels.

This beautiful old barn on the Folk School grounds was looking very autumnal.  Someday I hope to return to the Folk School as a student myself.

A fun, relaxing weekend in North Carolina.  Batteries recharged, and ready for fall to come to Atlanta!