Girls With Grandmother Faces

Spring Fling ~ 2000

May 15-19
Seven Devils, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina
(Playing ~ "I've Had the Time of My Life")

We began gathering from all over, some to spend the night along the way,
others to caravan Monday morning to the mountains.

Everyone seemed to arrive about the same time Monday afternoon at our big log cabin ~ Tie-One-On ~ at Seven Devils in
the Blue Ridge Mountains of N. C. (Close to both Boone and Blowing Rock.) There were 14 of us ~ Mary Frances and
LaVerne came with their husbands and stayed with them at night at their respective motels, but they spent the day with us.
The other 12 were Kitty, Helen, Barbara J., Earlene, Nancy T., Barbara G., Wanda, Hilna, Yolanda, Mattie,
Marian and Carolyn. Two more had planned to be with us but were not able to come ~ Shirley because of her hip
replacement surgery that couldn't wait; Anna Joyce because of the serious illness of her brother-in-law in Florida.

In front of Tie-One-On with Yolanda, showing side and part of the back of cabin.

Monday afternoon and evening consisted of getting settled in, a barbecue supper planned by Team 1 and lots of catch-up
and laughter till we finally succumbed to fatigue and then sleep. Oh, we also "fed" "Katherine," so named because we already
had a Kitty. We used Katherine for our grocery money, etc. I must say here that Earlene was a great banker, planner,
organizer, leader and house mother all week ! We owe her a lot of thanks !!!

Tuesday morn was typical of breakfast all week ~ cereal, toast, fruit or just whatever each person wanted. Yes, we
began with coffee ~ gotta have that coffee !! Around 10:30 we left for the day's adventure and shopping. We loved looking
around at Goodwin Weavers in Blowing Rock; they're going out of business and had great values. We also shopped at the
Shoppes On the Parkway and had a delightful lunch there at the Parkway Cafe. We don't seem to want to stay out to shop
and walk around as much these days ~ came back by the middle of the afternoon to talk and rest. The weather was really good
all week long, and the patio on the main level, along with the living room and dining table, was usually a good place to relax.

~ Out on the Balcony at Tie-One-On ~
front row ~ Carolyn, Earlene, Barbara J.
second row ~ Kitty,Wanda,Yolanda, Marian, Helen, Mattie,Mary Frances
back row ~ Hilna, Nancy, Barbara G.
(missing~ LaVerne)

Barbara J. brought her keyboard, and Hilna provided beautiful musical accompaniment as we broke into song quite often
throughout the week. Any time we started a song and stumbled on recalling some of the words, we could always look to Nancy !

Hilna at the keyboard

At each breakfast place Tuesday morn, we found a beautiful invitation which read "You are invited to a Mitford Tea,
5-16-2000, 5:30 p.m. at Tie-One-On," along with the daintiest and prettiest tiny be-flowered straw hat you "ever did see."
You could see Kitty's fine hand in all of this! The appointed time finally came, and Team 2 had a lavish spread of
tea sandwiches, a wonderful punch and other goodies. Mary Frances provided old-time garden party hats that we wore
throughout the evening. Dessert was prepared by Helen: a delicious orange marmalade cake.

Chef Helen

The recipe for the orange marmalade cake can be found on Jan Karon's Mitford site at
     http://www.penguinputnam.com/static/packages/us/mitford/start.htm
(Click on "Newsletters," Fall, 1996.)

I have just discovered what appears to be a slightly different version of the cake at the Mitford site.
Click on "Jan Karon," and it is shared in a link from her page.

Click on cup here or below for Mitford Tea pictorial review!

It was all lovely, and lots of "sharing" and picture-taking followed. Very late that evening,
after most had gone to bed, some of us got comfy in the living room and watched a video
of "The American President."

Wednesday we had to bid "goodbye" to Helen who returned home to regroup and then head for Mars Hill for
the weekend for her class' 50th reunion.

Wednesday morn we left around 10:00 and decided each car/group would "do their own thing;" however, we still all
ended up meeting in downtown Blowing Rock for shopping and looking around. Six of the group attended the midweek mass
at the Episcopal Church but left before the Holy Eucharist. This is a beautiful and active church and is the one written
about in Jan Karon's Miford series. We had a wonderful lunch at the Main Street Cafe and spent a lot of time in
and out of many unique shops.
(Some of us even left a little for the economy of Blowing Rock.)

Party Time !

Wednesday night was also special. It was Barbara J's birthday, so we had a surprise celebration for her after supper,
including party decorations, cake and ice cream and birthday cards that everyone had brought. Supper was really delicious.
Team 3 planned subway sandwiches. Wanda had brought that wonderful Outback brown bread, and there was everything
you could imagine to build your sandwich ! Later, of course, was the usual singing and talking. We also watched the second half
of the Jesus film on TV as some had seen the first part on Sunday night.

When we left Thursday morn to do our running around, most everyone stopped at the Book World in Boone, visited more shops,
and then we all lunched at the Blowing Rock Cafe. From there, we headed for Valle Crucis, a slight detour on our way back
to our log cabin. The Mast General Store in Valle Crucis is the oldest still-operating store in N. C. and is on the
National Register of Historic Places. The site we visited is the original store, established in 1883. You could spend hours
there to really explore. It is huge and has everything you could imagine, including the post office.

After leaving Blowing Rock, our car, before meeting the others at the Mast General Store, got on the Blue Ridge Parkway
to check out a fascinating site Wanda told us about ~ the Linn Cove Viaduct, a magnificent structure around
Grandfather Mountain that actually enabled the Blue Ridge Parkway to continue from that point. American engineers
were never able to figure out how to build this road around the mountain, and they finally turned to German and
Austrian engineers to find the solution. Instead of supports under the road, it is attached to the side of the mountain !!
Driving onto this long expanse gives you a feeling that is almost impossible for me to express. I felt we were literally
driving out into space with the mountains closing in on us from all around;
I felt suspended in space ~ an ethereal experience !

I'm reminded here that as we travel in the direction of Seven Devils, we are going towards Grandfather Mountain.
You immediately understand how it got the name. A prominent place on the skyline looks exactly like the profile of
an old man's face, beard and all; Abraham Lincoln, for instance.

That last afternoon and night back at the cabin was a little too warm and stuffy so we finally had to use all the ceiling fans
and open windows for cross ventilation. There was so much food left from previous nights that we ate royally on leftovers
for supper. Afterwards, we called Shirley's home and learned she had her hip surgery a week earlier than we expected.
Her son Mel answered the phone in her hospital room and said she was fine, but sleeping. We also called Fessor and Ann
to let them in on the fun. They remembered exactly where we were and enjoyed hearing about our week. Later,
Earlene had some really fun, mentally challenging games that we played around the dining table.

Back of Tie-One-On showing part of the group on the two balconies ~
note the side showing three levels of the log house

Marian purchased a beautiful Dulcimer the last day and gave us a little taste of the sound. I'm sure we'll hear much more
in the future after she becomes proficient in playing it.

A special treat for the Fling was seeing Tom and Ed a couple of times when they brought Mary Frances and LaVerne
to the cabin. Another very special treat was being with Wanda and Harry's son, Jon. He's really a special and delightful
young man, and I could see both parents in him ! Jon is studying to be a pharmacist and during May and June is doing
an internship at the hospital in Boone. He had supper with us on Wednesday evening.

Friday morn, everyone was up early packing for departure. Even though maid service would be cleaning after we left
to prepare for the next guests, we still had some things to clear out. There was still so much food left that everyone
was urged to take some home. Even then, everyone was able to pack a lunch so each car could stop on the way home
for a picnic. Just before we departed, we all got into a circle on the front porch for a last goodbye at Tie-One-On.
We sang "God Be With You Till We Meet Again" and then The Benediction ~ "The Lord Bless You and Keep You."
Yes, we sang it all, including all the men's parts.

It was a fitting conclusion for the GWGF Spring Fling 2000.

Don't Forget ..... Click on cup for Mitford Tea pictorial review!

I'd love it if you would sign my guest book ... click on my picture.  

powered by  bravenet.com

Back to Site Directory for more browsing

Home

You may contact me by leaving a message in my guest book.

Copyright © 2000-2005 Carolyn Springer Harding
All Rights Reserved Unless Otherwise Noted  

Free JavaScripts provided
by The JavaScript Source