Happy Monday!! We have finally been seeing some sunshine the past few days! My lawn dried out enough to mow it. Good thing as my dog was getting lost in the "jungle." Well, it wasn't that bad, but my mower didn't know the difference. My tomatoes have started ripening and am trying to think of things to do with them. I'd like to can them, but don't think I have enough yet.

Murphy finally had our 4th of July celebration this last Saturday. It had been rained out on the 4th. The day started at 10:00 with the parade. Not much of a turnout, but the kids that were there sure did make out like a bandit with the candy!! We were on the float for Cub Scout Pack 400 and actually won "Most Patriotic!" Great job Pack 400!!!! 

Festivities continued downtown throughout the day. We went to the peanut drop which was at noon. My son has been going to the peanut drop since he was one (he's 8 now). He loves it! Hasn't found a colored peanut yet (you win money), but has a great time. We went home after that and came back for the fireworks. An awesome show, as usual. I love being in a small town where we don't have any problems finding a spot to put our blanket, and always find friends there to visit with. Traffic leaves something to be desired afterwords, but still got home in 15 minutes.

Shifting thoughts a little, just a heads up that mortgage rates have increased a little, but still over 1% below the rates in 2002! If you've been thinking about buying a mountain property, now would be the time as we're already seeing a shift in the market. Remember I am licensed in both NC and GA!!!

Have a great week!

Anyone started building an ark yet?

I'm starting to feel like we live in Scotland! Rain, rain, rain. Although I don't want to complain as I'm thankful for it. Because of the weather, the town of Murphy and others in the area have postponed the 4th of July festivities for tomorrow (Saturday).

So, yesterday (the 4th), my brother and his boy, myself and my boy, went for a drive to look at waterfalls on our way to Highlands, Cashiers, and Glenville, NC. Needless to say, the waterfalls were very active!! It rained off and on all day, but we had a great time either way. The boys enjoyed looking in the gem shops in Highlands and were sure to pick up a few goodies while there (they are 9 and 11 years old). Brought back memories for me and my brother when we were kids and would visit Highlands, NC and get a small back of gems. We dodged raindrops as we went from shop to shop. Then it was on to Cashiers where we stopped at Carolina Smokehouse for lunch. Again, memories as our family used to go there when we were kids.

Our final destination was a cabin in Glenville that my grandparents built in 1969. It's not in the family anymore, but we are in contact with the current owner should he ever decide to sell. He is a landscape architect in Atlanta, GA and has done some beautiful things with the grounds! The cabin and landscaping were actually in a magazine, Southern Accents, many years ago.

Our day ended at my folks place in Murphy for a barbecue and some of our own fireworks.

I've attached a few pics of our adventure. The first pic is actually of the "Beck" cemetery near my grandparents cabin. We used to go there every year when we went to visit the cabin. The second pic is of Dry Falls (not very dry), the third is of the drive under falls on Hwy 64 between Franklin and Hayesville, NC.    Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th!!!

Happy Friday!!! We've really been having some interesting weather this Spring, now Summer! Even though we've had afternoon showers quite frequently, our overall weather has been on the mild side. Temps have been wonderful overall, hovering in the mid 80s for the last couple of weeks. Haven't seen hardly any ticks or fleas so far this year either! Plants are lush and green, and our garden is growing quite well! And, the rain has not kept real estate buyers away either. I do love living in these mountains...a little piece of Heaven, if I do say so myself. Have a wonderful and relaxing weekend......