Hooray! Hooray! the 1st of May!

Much of my last week was spent reading Jean Auel's latest novel, "The Land of Painted Caves."  Perhaps it's because I know it's the last in the Earth Children series, but it just doesn't have the sense of excitement the previous 5 had.  Still, I love the characters at this stage of their lives and where they are going.  It is so good to be with them one more time! 

I saw the movie "Water for Elephants" and was delighted that it stayed so close to the book.  It is such a good story and the actors brought it to life on the screen very well indeed.  Hal Holbrook almost stole the show at the beginning and the end and was his usual brilliant self.  I highly recommend this one!

This past week the RV park was invaded with over 35 of these little, and I do mean little, T&B trailers (aka teardrops).  They sure are cute, and they sure are small!  I didn't get to look inside one, but all of the people seemed to be very happy campers.  Most had large canopies attached around the door, giving a large outdoor living area.  The one you see here had the more traditional type canopy and it was by far the most attractive. 

On Saturday, good friend Hugh Huntington and I went to Beaufort, SC to see the airshow at the Marine Corps Air Station there.  We had a very fine time!  As we walked down the street looking for a place to lunch, Hugh spotted this Maserati and he had to do a little happy dance!  It sure was a beaut!  Could one be in Hugh's future?  Who knows?

The Blue Angels were there and did their usual spectacular flying exhibition.  Getting a good picture of them with my digital camera is just about impossible, but I did get a few pics of some other special aircraft.

This fine aircraft is called an OV-100, the civilian version of the OV-10 Bronco used by the Air Force during the Viet Nam was as an observation plane for calling in air strikes by the fighters.  It's job was to find the targets and shot smoke markers for the fighters.  It was my  second choice in air craft after the T-37, which I got.  This one had a brand new paint job, less than 2 days old.  But, the inside looked over 35 years old, which it was!  This one is used for mosquito control!

The Air Force now uses the T-6, above, in place of the T-37 (aka Tweety Bird, Flying Dog Whistle) which I flew.  This is a very fine plane, fully acrobatic with a ceiling of 35,000 feet, ejection seats and great instruments.  I'd love to fly one, but it still wouldn't be like flying a Tweet!

Today was the first time I'd seen a parrot attend a celebration at Jubilee!  and it was brought by Christina.  Then there was the cutest of little girl sitting in front of me!  We played "she drops the stuffed poodle and I pick it up for her"  more than a few times. She was such a wiggle worm it was hard to get a picture of her.   

I put the same prayer on the wall today for 2 special people in my life, my son and my lover.  The prayer was for serenity while experiencing major life changes: my son is getting out of a relationship and my lover is getting into one. 

When I was getting ready for church, I got a phone call, became distracted and wound up going to church with only one hearing aid inserted!  Luckily I was able to sit near the podium with my good ear near Howard, so I fared pretty well.  But I've learned over the years that when I'm not able to hear well with my ears to listen more with my heart and watch whoever is speaking very carefully.  Howard is a very animated speaker and singer, so I get it whether I can hear it well or not.  Oh yeah!

Today Pack Square was the site of the first Big Love Fest to celebrate Asheville.  Its' mission is to support independently owned local businesses.  There was great food, music, very fine crafts and excellent beer, as well as over 35 home brewers providing samples.  I passed on that, having been one in a former life and remembering how bad some of it could be.  Plus it's hard to count 2 beers when you're drinking small samples, and 2 is my firm limit when on 2 wheels.  I did have 2 of Craggie's Antebellum Ale which was superb!  It's an updated version of an 1840 recipe containing water, yeast, molasses, ginger and spruce tips. 

One highlight of the crafts were silk flowers by thimblekiss.blogspot.com or thimblekiss.etsy.com.  They were spotted online by my lover and she strongly suggested that I check them out, which of course I did.  They were so nice that I bought 3 of them, including the one you see here.  I also acquired a small terrarium in a light-bulb-shaped container which is just the right size for HOWHEE.  It contains a smooth, green moss and a glowing blue stone.  And it only requires a teaspoon of water every 6 months!  Now that I can handle!

There were lots of colorful hats and dresses and this was one of the best combos.  Unfortunately, the photo doesn't do justice to the color and texture of the dress.  It was like a sheer velvet and had a subtle sheen to it.  It was gorgeous! 

It was another fine Sunday in Asheville and I look forward to the next one.  It has become my favorite day of the week!  Thanks for stopping by!