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Showing posts with label bears. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bears. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Treasure homes

 

The Cotton Street house with all the lights. I mentioned it earlier, how it used to have several trees in the yard, then a tornado tore through the property. They were finally working on repairs (without any funding except insurance) when Hurricane Helene caused more damage. But a year later, here are beautiful decorations...just no trees to light up.



2023 version had a star in a tree as well as a fence (below)

Sharing with My Corner of the World

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McClure homes:

I was searching for the original post on FB for the McClure home which I'd been interested in - located in south west Virginia...kind of in my neck of the woods. And these other homes with the same title came up. So I'll share them as well! Some other McClures either built them or owned them!

From Preservation Oklahoma

"Built in 1909, the Nickel Ensor McClure House is a majestic example of Romanesque Revival Style in Alva, Oklahoma. I'm glad to see it in good shape with work continuing to take place by the current owner. It was listed on POK's Most Endangered Places in 2009 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010."

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From Jimmy Lloyd of Natchez Mississippi


"The James McClure house built in 1850 located on North Union. The name McClure is associated with King's Tavern, which was built in 1789." (No mention on the Wikipedia article of Mr. McClure, however as an architect he might have had some input in renovations.)


King' s Tavern built 1769 Natchez Mississippi

The King's Tavern building in was built in 1769, making it the oldest structure in the old river port city of Natchez. When the British moved in and established the nearby Fort Panmure, the King's Tavern building was originally built to be a block house for the fort. As there was no saw mill near this frontier town, this building and other structures were constructed using beams taken from scrapped New Orleans sailing ships, which were brought to Natchez via mule. Another source of wood used in the King's Tavern building construction were barge boards from flat river boats, which were dismantled and sold after arriving in Natchez with their goods after traveling down the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Boatmen couldn't take their flat boats back up these rivers, so they just added to their profit by selling the boats as wood, which was needed to build Natchez. Besides the wood, sun-dried bricks also were used as building material. The result is a building which has an ambiance and decor of another era from the outside.

After the Revolutionary War in 1776, the British left the area, leaving the river port open for other interests. In 1789, a New Yorker by the name of Richard King moved his family to Natchez where he bought this block home and opened a combination tavern and inn, as well as the place where the town's mail was dropped off.  

...with the invention of the steamboat, which could travel down and up the river as well, the need for this dangerous travel along Natchez Trace ended with this form of modern transportation. This development cut down on the lucrative stage business significantly, dropping the economic activity taking place at the King's Tavern. Richard King sold the King's Tavern in 1817. The building was once again a private home, becoming the Postalwaith family home for several generations, a total of 150 years, beginning in 1823.

In 1973, the building was sold to a local investor and it eventually became a tavern and restaurant to serve both locals and visitors, taking the original name, the King's Tavern. Under new ownership as "The Tavern" it reopened in the fall of 2013. The owners used the farm-to-table concept using locally sourced quality ingredients.

It was for sale in 2022. It is also supposedly haunted.

Source: Wikipedia

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I don't remember having any McClure ancestors, actually. But there surely were a lot of them building houses! Yes, I found some more McClure homes...(coming soon!) My Ancestry search brought out Confederate Captain John McClure Biggs, husband of my first cousin four times removed. I don't know why his middle name was McClure, haven't gone back in his ancestry...but who knows...

Sharing with Tom's Tuesday's Treasures!

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A house blessing.


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Two more days until Christmas!

This and tomorrow are the biggest days men go shopping (at least in my having seen their quick and somewhat stressed presence in many stores through the years!) Gift wrapped things are highly popular.

Not all men of course.

Some just arrange for gift cards to be emailed around.

(If this sounds familiar, thanks for thinking of us who purchased presents (after thoughtful consideration of the traits of the receiving person) back in what, October? August?)

Actually I purchased or made my presents either this month, or over several years - but packed them and gave the pottery away last month. I do hope my Ohio relatives don't mind. They were busy looking at each other's phones to see what someone said they wanted was the right style or color! That was the 4 women. None of them asked me what I wanted for Christmas. There was no thought that I might like a present. I am positive if I'd presented a list there would have been dead silence from them. I was told however, that my daughter-in-law had already chosen my present.

I'll be grateful to receive anything. How thoughtful to be included in the family with busy lives.

I've said that for years.

But a little bit of the angry "Elderly Grand-Elf" has a bitch to share. No not toward male shoppers who procrastinate...they know who they are.

When do adult grandchildren acknowledge that they have the wherewithal to give gifts to their Elderly Grand-Elf?

My oldest grandson has done this several years. For which I'm very grateful. Of the other 5 grands...not so much.

So no excuses kids...you're grown ups now, and have incomes (except the 2 still in college)..probably much more than mine.

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Today's goddess:




Ceramic creation on display at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts, 2025



Thursday, May 22, 2025

Short day trip

 

The national flower of Ukraine


My friend Teresa and I drove down the interstate to the nearby town of Hendersonville NC.

We knew of one shop in downtown H. that we wanted to visit (her daughter-in-law works there/owns it?) And someone gave us the directions to a good sandwich shop.

Main Street Hendersonville has two things we noticed right away. Each cross street has a  stop light...about a dozen of them though I didn't count. And each cross street has 4 bears on the corners...delightfully painted.

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A popular pub, which we skipped, Hannah Flanagans


I didn't recognize the musician on this bear, which had the tune of "Come and sit by my side if you love me." Perhaps it had something to do with a TV show?


I did enjoy these two bears.

Several shops weren't open yet at 10:30, and we didn't bother going back to them as there were blocks and blocks of shops!



We would have enjoyed visiting the florist, but she was out having breakfast I guess.


Early morning was coolish and comfortable, though the sun was bright on the other side of the street.

A fun shop that was open...many booths of vendors arranged deep into the building, and there were upstairs and the basement also to explore. We didn't. 



While my grandchildren are all adults now, Teresa had to check out O.P. Taylors for some toys for her granddaughter (this one is for Christmas!)


OK, that's quite enough for today. I'll sneak some more in tomorrow!

I went to lunch yesterday in Black Mountain with another couple of friends, and had a delicious thick hamburger. No photos for that, nor the fried onion rings.  I did bring home half my burger and salad. The rings don't reheat that well, so we left some on the table. I know, sacrilege! There's still a coldness with one of my friends, and I just didn't try to talk it out. It left me feeling I'd been with someone who was freezing me out. 

Geese, this is no fun! I gave both of these ladies the belated birthday cards and gift cards which I'd had for them the day everything went to 'h---' in a handbasket. Rather belated gifts, and no way they could prove I'd had them for them that day, since neither of them came to lunch. But I'm not as emotional now that I'm over that drug that made me so tearful, so if a friend can't even say thank you for a gift, I guess I won't be seeing much of her for a while. It feels like having a teenager around.

I shared with them my dream of moving to Colorado. Who knows if I'll ever be physically able to do that.

Today's quote (which echoes my own words):

If you're feeling stuck in life and are ready for change, take time to declare to the universe that you're ready.


These are not all made by myself, but I was bound and determined to give them away to the folks at the class I've been taking at church in Asheville. I succeeded!

Wednesday, September 2, 2020

The 'hood

 Across the street (Blue Ridge Rd) are some single family homes.


While at the entrance to my apartment complex are sidewalks on which I walk almost daily.

I think this must be the back side of this home...and one of these days I'll drive around to see what the front looks like. One cannot walk on the two-lane Blue Ridge Rd, which has no shoulders, just ditches on each side.




There are parking places only on one side of the drive that goes through the Blue Ridge Apartments.

I walk up and down this driveway! We seniors don't go out all that often, so when I walked at 10:30 on Sunday morning I was happy to see folks leaving to go to church. My church holds virtual services...nobody in person due to COVID. So I was back home and on the laptop by 11.

And here' the follow-up to the bear's enjoying our trash. (see this post)..the management put up some signs where a person in a wheel chair could see them.





Today's quote:
We forget how powerful our words are and when we make promises, it is up to us to make sure we keep our words sacred. Daily Om


Saturday, August 29, 2020

...and on another topic...

 Someone who owns a cat, and has lots of take-out/delivered meals, and drinks Pepsi pretty regularly...

Perhaps the same person...but these are certainly not recycleables...yet that's the bin which Mr. Bear tumped over.  It's possibe that someone righted the other black one. Food stuffs are supposed to have been placed in that brown bin to the far left, which has toggles that insert through rings, and is bearproof.

I was dismayed to see these piles of garbage left out over Sat and Sun. last weekend. The management had sent out a letter as to how we should place our garbage, and if we didn't we might have to clean it up and be fined.  Apparently everyone is now suffering because of this one person's mistake.

I had garbage waiting to go into the brown bin, but didn't take it out until this was settled. I fear the person at fault, who has a cat, also can't clean things up, as she rides an electric wheel chair herself. And from her eye level, she must not have even seen the "Recycle" sign on the top of the black bin. There's no way she'll be able to maneuver and clean up that trash either.

It was cleaned up by Monday morning (probably by the management.) I wonder what they will do the next time...

Poor bears get used to eating people's food, and it makes them more likely to have healthier cubs, which depend upon people's garbage more and more. Not a pretty cycle. These are wild animals and a close encounter may well leave a person injured, and then the bear would be killed.

And just to make this a bit of a Sepia Saturday post...

A dear friend/relation who was also a former Pan Am flight attendant... posted this to share. I can't resist adding it so all of you who remember Pan Am can smile at the good ol' days.  Check out other Sepia Saturday posts this week - the last Saturday of August!

Today's quote:
There will be something, anguish or elation, that is peculiar to this day alone. I rise from sleep and say: Hail to the morning! Come down to me, my beautiful unknown.
JESSICA POWERS