It’s All Clear Now

Last night was Boo’s first big thunderstorm and all four of us (Diesel included) ended up in the same bed for most of the night. I loved hearing the thunder and watching the lightning over the mountains from our bedroom window.

This is why they call it the Smoky Mountains:

Brett spent the day running errands and planting grass where the new septic tank is. I spent most of the day caulking and painting the house:

I spent at least 2 or 3 hours filling all the cracks and imperfections with white caulk and it all looked amazing! UNTIL…..it began to disappear. Wait, didn’t I already do this room? I had used:

CLEAR CAULK

Note: It was not clear when it came out of the tube! The clear goes on white at first but and turns clear when it dries.

As a result I ended up at the town hardware store twice today. Look the jars of seeds they have….order by the 1/4 pound and they are put in a small brown paper bag. The cute old scale from the 1950′s didn’t fit in the photo (and the cute old man from the 1950′s who asked if he could help me). Does it not make you want to garden?

We had a huge thunderstorm during dinner tonight. The lights went out a few times but everyone just kept on eating and talking. After a downpour and lots of lightning it was over as quick as it showed up. Brett said tonight’s dinner was his favorite yet with country fried steak, broccoli casserole, biscuits, chicken and dumplings, among other things. Good grief I need to start hiking asap.

After the tables were cleared we sat in the dining room with another family (who also used to visit in her childhood and decided to come back with her own family) and looked through old photo albums looking at the inn from the 1950′s. I’ll have to share some of those cool vintage photos with you when I get my scanner and desktop up and running again.

We got a new post office box today. Turns out the postmaster is the grandfather of two cute little boys that Boo played with this morning. I love that when I picked up my key they said “welcome to Bryson City.” Later I tried to find the library and my Google Maps took me up a steep hill, via a small road by a place called the Fryemont Inn and the road was so tiny I was sure there wasn’t a library down it. I did a 40 point turn in the parking lot with a small crowd as an audience, almost running over their sign. That would have been horrible…what if I had a mugshot?! Sometimes I wish I still had my little Prius because it’s a little less conspicuous. The huge truck with the camper shell and Yakima rack with the California license plates don’t allow me to fly under the radar easily. The other day we passed this guy in another white pickup FOUR times..and on random back roads:

Me: What do you think that guy is doing?
Brett: I’m wondering what he thinks WE are doing.
Me: Maybe he’s a citizen patrol…out making his daily round of citizen arrests
Brett: I don’t think they have those in Bryson City.

I think I am in love with this small town. This is where I’m supposed to be. I know Boo feels that. She’s all over the place…even accompanying the innkeepers to town to run errands today. I see Brett getting more and more settled too. And thanks for the ideas about the walkie talkies! We found our set and used them all day with Boo. She’s still getting the hang of them though: Lainey said Boo was singing “Let it Go” into the walkie talkie as they drove to town and someone else they didn’t know responded.

I’m sure I get some eye rolling over how excited I am about the littlest of things (like the store that sells guns AND ice cream?!) I can imagine it gets exhausting too:

I love that silo!
I love that old man!
I love that falling down building!
I love that mangy looking dog!
I love that pile of leaves!
I love that purple haired lady!
Look how much water the dehumidifier made!
I love that newly plowed field!
I love that…and that…and that.
I don’t love all those spiders!
I DO love those old pickups!
I love the train tracks!
I love that there is a McDonald’s!
I love this inn!
I’ve always wanted overalls!
I love septic tanks!

I love it all.

I love REAL. And this town is so real to me.

Oh and P.S. the new mailing address for Lil Blue Boo / Hackshaw Family is:

P.O. Box 910
Bryson City, NC 28713

And of course you can just send mail to the Hemlock Inn directly too. They know where to find me.

From the Smoky Mountains,

Ash