Getting settled while relocating to North Carolina

We made another (third) trip to Birmingham last Wednesday for another load of stuff! We rented a U-Haul and quickly got it stuck again on our mountain road, they are gravel and we had to go look for the dogs before we left so we changed out our route to going uphill to find them and backed into a tree trying to get unstuck in the sandy gravel which we just dug into making ruts even bigger than they are naturally., and all this is by our driveway!  We are going to have to get a four wheel drive car. Our Ford escape SUV just doesn't have the power for a heavy load. But, the truck was empty except for a few packing boxes we were taking back to pack things in.


We already had to call a wrecker before for our 2nd load as we dug in the road then going uphill so we dropped off the U-Haul down by the mailboxes and pond inside the sub-division this time and unloaded it with our things there into our car and made several trips to our house this time. It took us 5 1/2 hours to unload it with 8-10 trips to our house as it was due to be returned by noon on Sunday. We still had three bookcases full of our clothes and saw it would be a late return so we called the rental place, where we also have a storage unit and asked for an extra hour. They agreed to return it by 1PM so we really hurried and just unloaded our truck in the front driveway and left everything there to return it and then in the afternoon we brought it into the house and just dropped everythng where we could find a place. Boy, we are packed into this tiny house but I hope to sell some things at the flea markets up here. They are all over the place in 5 cities we live close too. I really love that idea. We also were trying to get unloaded before the rains were to come that afternoon. It did hold off for us thank goodness and did not start raining until 7PM Sunday evening. It is just a gentle shower now as Tropical Storm Lee is headed this way with harder rains to come during this week. Our Atlanta Television stations are covering the weather very good telling us how it is coming our way.


Monday morning it really started raining harder but I still have some windows open in the unfinished attic (this will be my crafting room) for the cats to lay by. They dearly love the window sill padded rack we put up for them, plus the windows with the two fans with air coming in one side and going out the other of the house. It really is quite comfortable up there today, Labor Day. I am working as I have to get things strainghted out here and not be so packed in. We have walking paths now in the house upstairs and down.


We brought back 5 bookshelves and I found when I went to put the shelves back in that I had left all the shelf holder brackets in the bag I was putting them in back in Birmingham, I suppose as I cannot find them. Fortunately I have a few 3/16 inch poles for other uses but they fit perfectly and my husband made the shelf holders for them. Fine! I so appreciate his help in his mechanical skills I totally lack.


The TV is really covering tornados all over Georgia and I am learning the counties in northern Georgia and Southwestern North Carolina. I am learning them anyway so it is really helpful to have a map handy. I also rented some tree  and Carolina bird books  from the library in Murphy to try and identify the trees and bushes around where we live now. We live in the Natahala National Forest and it is very wooded here.


I took many photos driving around our wooded sub-division yesterday afternoon also before the rains would probably take many of the leaves down. I took photos and collected leaves and bark where I could, also the berry pods that are so beautiful here. 

Water hold in three tree trunks, is it a hobbit hole?

Water hole tree in our backyard

My collection

 I have myself in school again learning the minerals and trees around this area. It is so interesting to me, especially where we moved from a garden home subdivion and we had one lone oak tree in the front yard and a fence in the backyard closing off the lime quarry behind our house. We also could hear the trains going to the quarry unlocking and locking the trains there that I miss up here. I never thought about the trains being interesting, it also was a main line to Mobile from the Alabama, Birmingham area.


We do have a bear with three cubs here and many deer, turkeys, bunnies, and assorted birds and I just love nature items to collect for my nature crafts. I signed up to be at the Warne, NC Fall Festival with a craft table and hoping I can get a few more things made but I am very busy just un-packing all we have to find what I can make. We still have a lot of (stuff) in Alabama that has not been brought up here and I don't know how many more trips we can afford to bring up.


My family is telling me to get over my collecting stuff but I paid for it and have a lot invested in my several years of collecting flea market, estate sales, charity shops, and my buying frenzy. I do think I am addicted to it and it will be hard to break this yearning to browse around and what I can find.


I hope to one day just relax on my front porch with a good book from all I have been purchasing over the years. I think my book collecting is from all the ones I lost in our home auction in Seattle after 911 when my husband was laid off his Information Technology job he had been in the industry for 15 years or so and that is one job that moved to India as everyone knows about. We moved into a Class A RV with our two golden retrievers, Megan and Jordan and lost many of our personal items. Up to that point my main collection was "Dept 56 Snowbabies" that I collected and had many bookshelves full of them. I saved a few of the older retired ones thinking one day we would just start over and have room for them again. Plus I never thought about the market just collasping on collectibles as they are not nearly worth anything near what I paid for them. But, I love them and am trying to fill a curio cabinet with what I have but it will overflow bad. I have no idea what I will do with them and displaying them where I can see and enjoy them.


But I found nothing is wrong with buying second hand in fact it is the best way to purchase things we need as I usually break them anyway especially my clothing is fine from thrift stores, especially and most of my wardrobe came from the Alabaster thrift I lived so close too. I wear a of of long crinkle skirts when going out and I have to wear something I can fold up my legs when sitting due to my neuropathy, I also have to wear sandals with an insole from my feet neuropathy. It all just came out of the blue and I never thought about ever having health problems. So we live day to day as my husband also retired with health problems and I am grateful for all I have as I have many blessings to be thankful for. My family first of all! I am so grateful for a loving family and I was just overwhelmed on my recent birthday with the love I received.


Back to the rain, sitting on our front porch for breaks is so much fun. We have no gutters on the house so when it rains hard, it is like sitting under a waterfall. Just really neat to see and enjoy!




Tuesday AM resume because I quit yesterday when unpacking and just on a break.


It got so cool last night with the rain and tempeture drop to 60's that I got out my Mother's shaw she knitted for me in the 1970's. Oh, I wore this shaw all the time then and I love it.


I wore in on the porch while it was raining and then again this AM also as I had to change from nightwear to long lightweight sweats and a long sleeve shirt when drinking AM coffee outside.. Do you put your nightwear underyour pillow when you make your bed? That way, I keep the bed made without dog hair on them. LOL!


This morning it is dry outside as in not raining but it did fill my V8 jug with about 9 inches of rain water. Maybe I will use it to rinse and wash my hair as I still hate the smell of our well water. They installed a filter which was missing altogether and the cold is OK just the hot smells so bad still. I think they need a new heater altogether as it has sat under the house for several years that the house has not been lived in.


It looks to be an awesome fall here in the NC southernwestern mountains with all the bird migration and habitat to learn about. I am so excited to be here! 

This house also had a satellite antenna on the side

Honey with comb in it I got at Farmer's Market in Hayesville, NC

Cute garden shed

Cave Springs, Ga.