Red Wine Makes Me Ramble

The nights grow colder and darkness, suddenly, arrives an hour earlier (a trick of the industrial world mind you). The vibrant leaves that surround us seem grow more sparse every morning that I arise, a result of the autumn winds. Some cling longer than others, as if to flaunt their bright and enduring foliage. I suck up their sunset colored vision with my eyes. I breathe in as deeply as possible, for there is something about the October air. It is unique, clean and crisp. I want to drink it.

Winter whispers through the breezes and I can feel it in the draft under the doorjam. Licking my bare ankles. Autumn seems too fleeting and winter so endless. But here it comes, closer every minute. November will come tomorrow and bring with it a leafless, frosty age. Soon it will be time for wool socks, stuffing and reflection. Time for snuggles and tea. Time to look inward.

But first, there are leaves to be crunched and kicked and piled and tossed. Quick, before they turn back into the earth.

Happy Annimaversary

I woke up this morning and looked upon his sleeping face. His even, quiet breathing and messed up curls. I like to do this on most mornings that I arise before him. It's my secret pleasure.
But this morning was different. Today marks our five year anniversary and as I thought about that my eyes filled with cheesy tears.
The past five years have flown by. I can only hope that the next five are better than the last and that love is bountiful and never ending.
We are off to a romantic dinner after I am done with work.
Time to wine and dine and pontificate on the finer points of our, as we see it, truly kick ass union.
Well, that's it for my sappy entry.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a limited time in which to get my man all liquored up and ready for a loooong night!
Oh yeah.

Autumn in the Mountains

These were taken waaay too soon in the season to depict what it really looks like(the sun flooded out the colors too) Oh well. The school bus pic is my fave.

Punkins!!

Top: Punkin patch at at a church in Asheville.

Middle: Dustin paintin' punkins at the punkin' paintin'
party.

Bottom: Me on the front stoop with the punkins.

Homesick Moments.

Last night I dreamt of fir trees. They were tall and dripping with moss. I smelled the pacific ocean in the air and felt the dampness seep into my skin. I could taste the salty, thick fog and asked it to rain on me. Fat drops of Oregon rain fell down and I felt like dancing. My grin was drenched in wetness and I drank in every drop. Even though I was in the middle of it I yearned for it somehow. Yearned for Sitka spruce and fiddleneck firns. For sorel flowers and ice cold ocean. I felt a strange feeling insdide, and then....
I woke up.
Outside my window was a beautiful chestnut tree, its leaves were the most miraculous red. The dry ground was not lush but still lovely. Deciduous trees of all colors waved at me in the wind and the North Carolina morning was immaculately clear.
I went out into the day and breathed in Asheville. The mountains, the old miraculous mountains, were visible on all sides. People are coming from all over to see that sight. To see what I see every day.
But no matter how beautiful I find this place, the northwest is in my blood. With all of its damp, cloudy, salty mornings.
And I miss it.

Giant Insects(and other bug filled tales of woe)

Beware ye of little entomological knowledge. Beware all ye who reside in Oregon who know not of the giant insects who dwell down South. Or, perhaps you DO know and that is exactly why you live in western Oregon or some such similar state in the northern hemisphere. For here in the South (yes, I am aware I am using a capital S-but in this situation, I feel the area warrents it) there are Insects of Unusual Sizes. Sizes and quantities you never imagined nor cared to know about.
But I'm gonna tell ya. Mmmm HMMMM. Yer gonna hear about it.

I arrived here with the vague knowledge that I would be encountering bugs of a bigger size than I ever cared to see. I should feel thankful really, that we did not choose to move to Mississippi, Alabama or any other state further South of here. Perspective aside, I was stunned, grossed out and all around shocked into submission over the size of insects(specifically arachnids) in this region. Even my horrifiying, insect related experiences in India and SE Asia did not prepare me for such critters. Perhaps it was the knowledge that I would not stay too long in either place.
"Hey baby come check this out!" Dustin's excited voice cried one humid Southern night after we just moved into our house.
"What?" I replied with little enthusiasm as I was involentarily torn away from my Vanity Fair magazine.
"There is a GIANT SPIDER on our garage door!" He exclaimed enthusiasticly, as if a local celebrity had just arrived at our door and announced our victory in the Publishers Sweepstakes.
My spine went cold with shivers. My imagination ran wild. The beautiful, movie star images staring back at me from the pages of Vanity Fair were replaced by images of purely imagined, eight legged terror.
"NO!!" I screamed as I wiggled uncomfortablely on the couch, "GROSS!"
I was the quintessential image of a blonde and fearful valley girl.
"Show me no spiders," my facial expression warned, "EVER!"

So Dustin calmly walked out to the garage and took the picture that you can all view above on the top of this page. Yes, it was really that freakin' big, and yes, such insects dwell all over this lovely, Dixie lovin' land of ours. Just two days ago I entered the shower with a smile. I was ready for the hot, refreshing stream that awaited me. What I encounterd instead, however, was a spider of no less size than the one you see at the top of this horribly punctuated run on sentence. I screamed in horror. I screamed in disgust. I screamed for my very life. The poor spider ran faster than a coon dog with a bur in its butt (as they like say down in these parts). Deep down I know they are more afraid of me and all that sensitive hogwash. But damned if that deep down side of me is going to take the lead when I encounter such icky, alien looking critters.
Not only are there freakishly large spiders. There are other exciting, home grown delights such as chiggers and tics!!! Beware how far you walk into the lovely, wooded North Carolina forest my friend. You just might be digging burrowing insects out of your itching skin, or scratching at the beginning signs of lime disease. Horse size mosquitos are another rapacious, Southern delights. I have the giant welts to prove it.

Native born Southerners will scoff at my fear of these big and furry beings. Scoff if you must my experienced and brave young friends. I am but a naive, Oregon girl who is new to this world of gigantic, creepy, crawly critters.
Teach me of your wiley, local ways if you must.
But, above all, wish me luck.

Itchily yours and in perpetual fear of an arachnid attack.

S

crappy pics of our new house part deux

Yes, i know some of them are sideways and what not. Dont blame me. I'm still learning this new fangled computer business.
Not bad eh? If only it didnt smell of ass.

some crappy pic of our new house

Zippity freakin Doo Da.

For whatever reason, things have fallen into place for us in Asheville quicker than a Lager turns to piss(if you'll pardon my vulgarity). First, we arrived here on a Tuesday and moved into our house on a Saturday. On the same note, I started job hunting on a Monday and got hired on a Wednsday! That's right people, I am now an employee at a hip restaurant right in the heart of downtown Asheville. I can keep my nose peircing, wear what I please and carouse with the other pierced, tattooed and all around derelict looking youngsters that surround me. Life is good.
I admit, when I put in my resume there I was a bit irritated. Not that the people weren't sweet as pie, mind you, but because they made me fill out an application in addition to my resume. That always irks me because it seems nothing short of redundant.
But fill it out I did, in my worse handwriting and with a hint of sarcasm. One of the ridiculous questions was:
"If you had Martha Stewart, Fidel Castro and Barney to dinner-what would you feed them?"
What the hell does this have to do with my ability to work you ask? I was wondering the same damn thing. My answer was something like:
"Fish, Steak and Cheeseburgers respectively."
and I handed it in with a fake smile.
They apparently loved my witty answer and promptly called me the next day. During my interview I found out it wasnt the brilliant culinary cuisine that I would have served to homemakers,dictators and annoying, extinct purple reptiles that grabbed their attention. It was the fact that I have been to India. The owner has apparently spent ample time in that crazy, dirty, wonderful place and was interested in the fact that I had to.
So, there ya go. The third world worked in my favor on this one and for that I thank every acre of it's impoverished soil.
Things are lookin' up in the world if I do say so myself. I think I just might whistle me some "Zippity Doo Da."

Now, if I could just de-stink my house....