Allyson is on a Roll

Today Allyson is about thirteen weeks old. She has been working on rolling over from her back to her tummy.

To check her progress view the three links to videos below.

So that was a warm up session. Let see the next attempt.

Perhaps this will be the time.

I was lucky to catch that one. Come back for crawling and first steps.

Early Fall Visit to See Evie, Jacob, Ian and Chloe

A few weeks ago Kiley called and asked me to come to visit the week of September 29 when Blake

Ian & Chloe with Ronald

would be in Jacksonville. On September 25 I drove from Randleman, NC, to the Chin home in Hiram.  Kim worked days on Friday and Saturday. On Saturday Steve and I took the grandkids to McDonalds. Steve worked a couple of part-times so I babysat the kids two nights from about five to eight. The kids were well behaved and went to bed without much to do.  

On Monday I drove from Hiram to Tallahassee. I arrived at the Mallard home just a few minutes before Blake and Kiley returned home from Tampa. I took Blake over to Avis to get the car he would drive to Jax. Evelyn was now two months old. She has filled out since

Evelyn @ Two Months

I saw her the week of her birth. On Wednesday Kiley took her to the pediatrician. All was well and Evie weighed 10 pounds 6 ounces. We all had a good week. Blake came back on Friday and I took care of Evie while her parents went to a party. Got her to bed about 8:45 pm.

 

Jacob at Playground

On Saturday I drove

back to Hiram and spent a few more days with the Chins. On Monday morning took Jacob to a playground in Hiram while the other kids were in school. Tuesday Kiley and Evelyn joined us here. I planned to leave on Wednesday but all day rainfall delayed my departure until Thursday.

Southern Randolph Country Days

One Good Country Band

The Southern Randolph Country Days runs from Friday

Finish Line After 4 Physical Tasks

the 19th of September through Sunday the 21st.  I dropped in for about three hours on 

Saturday afternoon. On Seagrove’s East Main Street near the Pottery Museum the pavement was blocked off and a street fair with all the usual vendors of food, jewery and crafts were displaying their wares. One of the vendors had a John Deere gas engine rigged to turn an ice cream churn. He made great “homemade” peach ice cream. On one end of the street a stage for musical groups was set up. At the other end the street near the volunteer fire station firefighter contest were taking place. I stopped by the stage and listened to two groups. The first played gospel blue grass. The other group was good country band. I kept getting ready to leave but then they would start playing another song I liked. I also dropped into three or four pottery shops. For more pictures click here.   

 

 

 

 

 
 

Bluegrass at Blandwood (9/7 & 9/14/2008)

Back Lawn of Blandwood

Each Sunday afternoon in September a different bluegrass group will be playing near downtown Greensboro on the back porch of Blandwood Mansion. Blandwood was the mid-1800s home of NC Governor John Morehead (like in Morehead City). Blandwood’s original structure was built as a farmhouse in the 1790s and expanded in the 1820s. In 1844 the governor hired architect Alexander Jackson Davis to renovate it as a Italianate-style villa. Morehead was a prime force in developing the railroads in the Piedmont of North Carolina.

 

The first Sunday’s performance was made by a Weaverville, NC, group called The Biscuit Burners.

The Biscuit Burners

Odessa Jorgensen (fiddle) and Mary Lucey (bass) are the group’s vocalist. Dan Bletz plays acoustic guitar and Bill Cardine picks the dobro.

Two acts played on the second Sunday. The opening

Trail Mix Bluegrass

 act was Trail Mix Bluegrass from Raleigh. They preformed cover songs from Alison Kruass to standards from the 1940s. The main act was Polecat Creek which featured seasoned singer songwriters. Polecat Creek have released three CDs to date.  more pictures… 

Polecat Creek

Blake Discovers How to Stop Evie’s Crying

You have to see the cutest video from the Mallard Blob. Blake found a way to temporarily stop Evie from crying. Click here.

Labor Day Weekend

Carol finished a very happy week with Evie and Kiley (See Bath Time) and returned to Pembroke Pines with Mickey. Christie and John spent the weekend in Mount Airy. I filled my weekend with a trip to the zoo, a car race and a visit to a historic home.

Eye to Eye with Polar Bear

On Saturday morning I used my pass to go to the North Carolina Zoo and take pictures. Spent about three hours there. Most of my visits have been on week days and therefore this trip more crowded with people than I’m used to. The bears were more active than I have seen before. For example, the polar bear was swimming with a large ball and then climb a rock formation.

On the way home I passed the Caraway Speedway sign on 220. Checked the schedule on the Internet when I got home. There was a race scheduled tonight. Took a nap and headed to the speedway about 7:30 pm. The track was a short asphalt oval (.445 mile). Took in the views of the race from several vantage points. The speedway was dimly lighted and made taking pictures difficult. Stayed until about 10 pm. Needed to get home to sleep before church tomorrow.

Pack Comes Out of Turn

Met Dewey and Tootie at church Sunday morning. After the morning service headed east on I-40/I-85 to Hillsborough, NC. Ate lunch at Smithfield’s BBQ. Had the traditional pulled pork plate like I would eat in Kinston when I was growing up.

Come & Sit Awhile in Ayr Mount

In 1815 a merchant named William Kirkland build a home for his wife and fourteen children on a 500 acre estate. They named the place Ayr Mount after Kirkland birthplace, Ayr, Scotland. Strolled the grounds on a one mile long path they call Poet’s Walk. The path passed through freshly mowed fields, woods, the banks of the Eno River, reflecting pond and old Indian trading route. A tour of the house was scheduled a 2 pm. I took the tour of this spacious three-story home and learned a bit of the history of the Kirklands. The house was beautiful and the grounds more so. I would be pleased to live there in a log cabin. Plan to return to Ayr Mount once the fall foliage is at full color.

John and Chritie returned home on Monday. John came over and mowed our lawn while I trimmed with the weed-eater. Joined John, Christie, Dewey and Tootie for grilled hamburgers and the fixings.

Trip to Stone and Pilot Mountains

On Sunday I was contemplating what to do this week. I wanted to go fly-fishing in Stone Mountain State Park. However the weather reports predicted rain most of the week. Monday morning realized if I was going to do it Monday night/Tuesday was my only chance. About noon packed my camping and fishing gear and headed to Stone Mountain via Pilot Mountain.

I have passed Pilot Mountain on highway 52 a couple times but never

Pilot Mnt from US 52

stopped to see it up close. Pilot Mountain is in Andy Griffith/ Mayberry Country. Both Mayberry and Mount Pilot are fictional towns near Mount Airy, an actual town. I drove up to the summit the mountain in Pilot Mountain State Park. The views of the surrounding towns and farms are beautiful even though Pilot has a modest elevation of 2421 feet. I followed two short trails to views of the Big Pinnacle (or knob). The day was overcast and the horizon was “smoky.” Would like to come back on a sunny fall day.  More…

 

 

 

 

 

Stone Mountain Campsite

Arrived at Stone Mountain State Park about 5 pm and set up my tent. The campground has about ninety sites in three loops. One loop has electricity in sunny sites another has wooded sites. I set up on a treed site. Fewer than ten sites which were occupied. The restroom included hot showers.

 

Before dark I drove through the park and observed scores of deer grazing along the side of the road. Went back to the camp, started a campfire and read a few pages of The Gold of Exodus in lantern light.

Buck Deer

 

 

In the morning woke before seven, ate some granola bars and fruit then drove over to fly-fishing only area on Bullhead Creek. Registered to fish area three and hiked up the

Bullhead Creek

trail alongside the creek. Entered the area 3 start point and worked my up the mountain slope in the creekbed. Cast my flies in many pools along the way. Found out right-a-way that some of the rocks were slippery. Landed on my butt at least five times. After about two hours, started looking for area 4 sign for my exit. Continued on and came across a few small falls which I had to climb over or around. I was getting tired and the area was becoming steeper and steeper. Decided to turn-around and work my way out the way I came. About half way back came across the area four sign I had missed. Climbed out of the creekbed and took the trail back to my car. About 11:30 signed out on the tail list. Next time I plan to fish the stocked area or wild trout areas seven or eight. Only went fishing today not catching. more …

 

 

Up until this point it had been overcast and the lightest of rain. I went back to the campground and showered and shaved. Had to take down the tent in the strong rain. It continued to rain for all of the two-hour drive home and all night.

 

 

 

The Week Ending August 23rd

I spent this week in Randleman, North Carolina. On Tuesday John and Christie came over for dinner. I served them the Publix salmon recipe that Kiley and I made a day or two before Evie was born. On Wednesday and Thursday I drove to nearby towns to take few photos.

Late 19th Century Pottery Shop

The town of Seagrove is known for potters and pottery both historic utility pieces and contemporary work for locals and tourist. The North Carolina Pottery Center is located there. The center is a non-profit entity which displays contemporary work from local potters and historical exhibits. The day I visited Catawba Indian pottery as well as the permanent exhibits were on display. more…

 

 

Historic Railroad Station

Thursday drove over to Liberty and captured photographs of some building of interest. Stopped a Kidd’s Drive Inn for lunch and ordered their Bar-B-Q sandwich with slaw. The coleslaw is served in the bun with the shredded pork. more…

First Post from BillTheNole

After viewing Kiley and Blake’s blog I finally decided to start a blog myself. I will incorporate some of my photos from bill-carol.smugmug.com and who knows what else. Let’s see where this leads.