I had another bizarre dream again, but this time I couldn't quite recall it when I woke up, unlike the last two nights. Today breakfast was eggs and toast, and we again didn't get up from the table until about 10:30. Checked email, and tried to quickly post all I had written so far, but for some reason blogger does not like copy/paste from a text file. Worked on the puzzle a little more, and then by 12:45 or so we were out the door to visit the North Carolina Arboretum, not far away. We toured their greenhouse, which had these sliding tables that allowed most of the space to be covered with plants. They had a neat collection of Bonsai trees, and I enjoyed it all. We then went to their main building for a temporary featured display they had talking about the science of animal droppings called “The Scoop on Poop”, based on a children's book. I think we were all a little hesitant about if it would be much of anything to look at, but it ended up being quite a fun little exhibit. I learned that it only takes an elephant 8 hours to drop my weight in droppings... LOL. We stayed at the Arboretum until 3, and then headed back home as quick as we could so we could all have lunch and I could get changed to meet my Aunt at East Henderson High School where she teaches so she could take me to the Jazzercise class she was teaching. I had a lovely time with her, as always, and will do it again when she teaches on Thursday night. When I got back home, I had a quick snack of banana bread, cucumber and turkey bologna (separately, don't worry) and then went to work on the puzzle. We watched a bunch of the Olympics as I worked on it. Starting at 8 pm, first it was the downhill jump as we waited to see figure skating. Unfortunately, that didn't come on until a LOT later. Grandma commented how sports like that were ruined for her because they're all rich kids... and I thought they were pretty boring because every competitor looked exactly alike in what they did and I didn't understand how the sport really worked, or how they could be doing any bettor or worse. By the time the figure skating had come around I was close to being done with the puzzle, so that by the 2nd or 3rd pair it was all done. I really do enjoy watching some of the dancing though... even if the scoring seems completely random and based on prejudices on nationality... the dancers were very beautiful and graceful, and I'm glad that the couple from Canada won... they were great!
But now it is past curfew... and time for bed.
Tuesday, February 23:
Banana bread and cereal for breakfast this morning... and not quite as long a morning talk. We soon headed out to go take a look at Chimney Rock, northeast of where my grandparents live by roughly 15 miles. It's something I've always wanted to do ever since the first time I've come here. And was it a perfect day for it as well! There were clouds in the sky, but we could still see for miles. We finally found the park after winding along the highway for what seemed like forever. Once we got there, it was only 2.5 miles up the hill before we came
to the visitor's center. Only mom and I went up the elevator to the top of the rock... my grandma isn't too keen on heights. And I was the only one who went on the rock itself, but it was worth it. What a view! From an elevation of 2,280 feet I saw the entire valley with the long, stretched out lake and the blue ridge mountains off in the distance. They had the nicest collectible patch for my collection as well.
When we got home, it was pretty late in the afternoon. We had a tiny snack, and I took a nice, long, lovely nap as my mom talked to my sister on the phone. When I woke up, she was just finishing, and it was time to get dinner in the oven. I read a little while it was cooking, and then for dinner (tater-tot casserole, with hamburger, onions, cheese and cream of mushroom soup) we sat in the living room and watched their latest from Netflix, disc two of Captains and the Kings from 1976. I had never heard of such a thing, and it was very interesting. We watched all four episodes.
Wednesday, February 24:
A wonderfully slow day, really. Pretty much all of the day was taken up with meals at home and my working on the next puzzle, a maze of red and green plants around a red and green lizard. 
Mom and Grandma worked on making bracelets out of beads, and Grandpa worked outside. For our evening enjoyment, we watched another movie that I brought along, “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day”. It's a romantic comedy from just a few years ago. I had first watched it on the plane going to Beijing. After the movie was over and everyone else went to bed, Grandpa and I stayed up and watched a bit of MSNBC, when they were talking about the healthcare issue of the following day. And I have to say that it really informed me as to what was going on. I generally don't pay much attention to the news since it's mostly entertainment. One of the hosts made a very moving point by talking about what he just went through with his father's illness.
Thursday, February 25:
Today after breakfast we went for a shopping trip to Biltmore Square Mall. We went to Belk's where, after a short half-hour, I found three new tops and a new pair of blue slippers, the kind with a back that don't fall off your feet. We then re-grouped and braved the icy wind and scattered flakes of snow to go to Dillard's at the other end of the mall. There I found the softest pajama set I had ever felt. It's blue and white plaid shirt and pants made of Portuguese fleece. And the best part: it was about 70% off the tag price (it's an outlet store) and only cost me $12 total. I also found another top that was a beautiful blend of purple, orange, red and white. For lunch we went across the street to “Papas & Beer”, a very successful, local chain of Mexican restaurants. I had a tasty grilled chicken burrito and we shared lots of guacamole. I worked more on the puzzle when I came home before we had to leave so I could go to Jazzercise again with my aunt. What a workout! I loved the planks and pushups we did... my triceps are rather tired! It was a lovely time to talk just with her while driving back and forth! When I got home, I made myself a sandwich and we all had some ice cream. Since we were out of movies to watch, we just watched TV. Grandpa had it on the MLB channel and we watched a program by Ken Burns about the history of baseball in the episode “The Seventh Inning” about the 1940's and 50's. I sure wish I could have experienced it back then. It was purer; it wasn't all about money.
Friday, February 26:
Today we went to Walmart. It is sort of a novelty for me, since the only one near where I live is at least a half-hour away to the north. We just don't ever go there. In browsing, I found some neat prints of fabric... one a fall maple leaf print and the other two different fish prints. I also found a $3 woven shirt and a $5 black leather jacket... yeah, real leather. I was a little surprised. We took the long way home and then I worked on the puzzle more. For dinner we had sandwich kits that my grandparents had picked up at Walmart, and mine was a yummy Parmesan cheese and turkey that I added a slice of tomato to. Pretty soon my aunt came by and we all left for Asheville to watch one of our favorite local actors in a play called “True West” by Sam Shepard. Goodness, it was strange! It was about desperation, power, discontentment and insanity, all highlighted in the lives of two brothers, one educated and one not, who switched roles when their circumstances changed. There were many parts that were very funny, but the ending left the younger, educated brother strangling his older brother. And I think we are left to assume that they just never stop fighting each other, but it was hard to tell.
I stayed in my new pajamas through breakfast and had another wonderfully relaxing day. Reading and puzzling and watching the horrible news about the disaster in Chile. I got all the hard part of the puzzle done and started work on the lizard before we stuck in the next disc of "Captains and the Kings" that had arrived from Netflix the day before. Before we got to the end, we stopped and went to see my aunt and uncle's house for drinks and snacks and to see the remodeling before going out to eat. There was a little snow around their pond/lake and a record twenty mallard ducks quacking and flapping around on it. My cousin Gus, who is a very friendly black lab, really wanted to play. So while we were all looking at the downstairs, my aunt threw a ball to him at the top of the stairs and he caught it and bounced it back down to her... it's one of his favorite games. LOL
Dinner was at a Greek pizza place and half of us had personal pizzas and the other half had huge plates of spaghetti. I was a pizza person. :) The food was good! My aunt and uncle treated us all.
Back at home we watched the end of "Captains" and I worked a bit
more on the famous puzzle... gosh, are you tired of hearing about it?... I just loved sitting there and working on it. It's so fun and relaxing when I'm not beating my brains out trying to find a piece. I did stop after a while and then picked up my Navy book to read while Grandpa and mom were watching a James Taylor concert on TV.
What a time we've had! What a glorious break!
Jp
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