Mellow Mushroom = Mellow Artist

Tonight we drove to look at some houses in Hendersonville and then drove into Asheville for dinner.  We chose to have a pizza and a great pizza it was.  And such a plus for me - a completely interesting restaurant called Mellow Mushroom.  The décor is like Outsider Art but not as outsider - funky and mixed throughout the restaurant both inside and out   My eyes were on "eye candy" overtime and I didn't calm until the pizza was delivered.  I loved the fennel flavor of the sauce for dipping the French bread.  It was outstanding and probably the best I've ever tasted.  And then, later, when the pizza arrived it's crust was sublime - yeasty and chewy.  I got the biggest kick out of the old bowling balls that were cemented into the stone walls around the restaurant and the leg lamp tickled me.  Fun to look around and eat great pizza - I'm in! Food for soul and body --- -- --- - you simply can not go wrong.


The view from out booth was as fun as it gets -

 

Great color inside the restaurant - you now what a freak I am about a color wheel.  And the light bulb changed colors too.

 

This is the outside of the restaurant - See the bowling balls mixed into the stone walls - genius!

 



 

And the inside gets an A+ for casual funky and especially nice servers.

 

Tomorrow we'll be checking out Hendersonville, it's below Asheville but my friend reassures me that it is totally artsy and fun.  Our realtor found a house we'd like to look at down there so hopefully it will happen.  Gosh, I never knew what a possible move might entail - it's both exciting and exasperating.  And then my head occasionally goes haywire.  In truth I look like the guy in the AT&T commercial who puts his hands up to his to indicate an explosion.....yup, that is how it feels.  Whoa, and that doesn't even begin to cover the emotions all of this cover.  Crap. 

 

This is the point where I need a magic wand to wave after my Fairy Godmother, Buddha, the heavens and maybe the good Lord step right down and say, "Hey lookie here Sharon - it's the right thing to do - just wave the wand and everything is going to be A-Ok from this point on.  No worries, just art and success, and a happy family - but spread apart family."  So good Lord if you are reading this blog and you'd like to step up between all the big things you have to do and give me some reassuring signs I think I could handle it.  Oh hell - I'd most certainly welcome it.

Let's Drive the Fudgie's Crazy!

It's Michigan - it's summer - and it's already steaming outside.  That is unusual for this time of year - but then it's crazy weather time all over the United States.  So, what does that mean?  Let me tell you my friend.  It generally means that every city slicker from Chicago through Detroit wants to go on vacation in Northern Michigan by the lake. 

Today we went to Traverse City - it's northwest of here.  It has buildings - architecture, shopping malls, doctors (the trip itinerary), and bead stores (YES!).  I needed a few things for my Bead Soup partner to round out the package I'm sending.  Town is packed - it's nearly Cherry Festival time.  TC (as we call it) is popular for vacationers.  Lots of beaches - a great downtown - plenty of restaurants and other amenities. 

Today’s trip was pretty funny.  We did what we planned and being in no particular hurry had a good laugh watching all the vacationers.  It looked like a city expressway on the roads.  It was 91 degrees outside yet the town was a thicket of bodies. 

So what does the title of this blog mean? They call this thicket of people "fudgies" - for the copious amounts of fudge they purchase while on these trips north.  It's like a tradition.  We refer to ourselves that way when visiting towns we don't know.  Everyone buys it, eats it, and ships it out for presents. 

The norm for the summer is for gas prices to be up around here.  So as we drive into town we see two lone gas stations right on the main drag with gas prices 40 cents lower than anyone else.  You'd of thought it was a parade.  Traffic was backed up a block in two directions since they were on opposite sides of the street.   It's a four lane street so can you imagine two of the lanes stopped like an ambulance needed to pass.  How funny it was to watch.  It was road rage in vacation mode....

Did we get gas - oh hell yes!  Our gas light was on so there was no better time.  Luckily I know town and the back way into the gas station so we weren't sitting ducks on the main drag but I laughed all the way through it.   And the fudgies?  LOL - lined up like a parking lot at the mall.  I can't help myself sometimes.  I just find the tiniest things funny.  I can laugh at myself now.  There was a time when I wouldn't have been caught dead in a line for gas or find the waiting funny - or be amused by a brand new car that wouldn't start after filling up.   But now.......I don't take it all that seriously. 

Life is too short not to enjoy the fudge.  Even in the heat!

Fun in North Carolina

One of the fun things we did while in North Carolina was to pan for semi-precious gems. We didn't know what to think about going to Emerald Village for the day - our preconceived notions and expectations were not terribly high. Much to our surprise we were joyously surprised. It was a riot and we spent hours sifting through our buckets for goodies. We found moonstones, garnets, little bitty emeralds, odd rubies, mica, aquamarine, and on and on. As you can plainly see by the photos it was wet, wild, and fun.

I even think I have a few pieces I can set into rustic jewelry pieces. You could have left them at the village for a genuinely nice lapidary person to make them into cabochons, but we decided to keep them "as is". Kate is going to use many of them in her water garden and everyone else is still deciding the fate of their gems.

Today I loaded up the kiln with clay and went to town to have my hair cut. Goodbye long locks! I also finally got to the mail and am pondering the glass conference information. It's the twentieth anniversary for the ISGB's Gathering. Tomorrow it's off to Traverse City to the dentist...gosh those appointments seem to come close together. I need torch time. Hopefully my schedule will be clearer after tomorrow.