Well, I had to do SOMEthing!

So I walked around the "yard" a little.  This is a better shot of the brook/stream/creek that is always audible and just across the gravel road from the house.  It's like having wonderful, natural white noise all the time!  I can only hear birds when they come pretty close to the house - that's how "bold" the brook is!

And I got out my paint and set up in one of the upstairs bedrooms that has pretty good light.  I had to rearrange the furniture a bit, and re-purpose a dresser for a painting table, but I think it's going to work out great!  Sure felt good to play in the paints!

Then I found a few wildflowers blooming around the house.  This little guy is a Bloodroot, a member of the poppy family, according to the identification guide in the house.  There are other tiny flowers here and there, and I can't wait to see what else opens up as spring arrives at 3K feet above "stress level".

I spent Wednesday and Thursday touring Asheville! I highly recommend the Gray Line tour at the Visitor Center for anyone who visits.  The ticket was for two days - hop on/hop off, so I took full advantage, and I learned a lot of cool stuff about the city.  This house is the oldest frame house in the county, and I just loved its cheerfulness.

This old Woolworth building still has the original soda fountain in operation!  Unfortunately, that made the whole building smell like frying bacon.  The building is now housing various booths of local art of all kinds for sale.  There is a busker in the right of the photo, and there were many others around town.  Other cool places I visited:  Laughing Seed for an awesome lunch, Chocolate Fetish for...chocolate, Mast General Store, Malaprop's Bookstore, and lots of other little nooks and crannies.  Favorite t-shirt slogans:  "Asheville - Altitude Affects Attitude" & "Asheville - Where Normal is Weird"