Away

It was so refreshing to take a day and go away. Decided to head to Asheville since it's full of color these days. So, I made my rounds to my favorite places, taking in the colors all along the way.

First, I went to my favorite grocery store, Greenlife. Got my usual rice milk mocha and saw this above the hot bar as I was waiting for it.

How I love Asheville! ... Gosh, how different it would be if the whole world recycled. Here's another shot of Greenlife, from where I ate breakfast.Stopped by Malaprop's Bookstore. I always have a journal in hand while in there, writing down titles and authors of books. Checking out the banned book shelf is worth a good laugh, too. James and the Giant Peach? C'mon. I did not know that a translation of Thirteen Moons by Charles Frazier was available in Cherokee. Asheville is known for its bumper stickers. Malaprop's joins in on the fun. It's easy to find a car with these on it.... I think Malaprop's wants Obama/Biden to win. :) They're not the only ones.

Saw this in the parking garage and laughed!
Back to Malaprop's... When I lived in Asheville, I spent many an hour here in this coffee shop.
Also stopped by the bead store where I re-stringed my favorite bracelet that broke for the 3rd time a few weeks ago. It's a liturgical prayer bracelet; it keeps breaking because I wear it all the time.... The pic is a bit blurry, but I'm happy that this is back on my wrist once again. It was fun to talk with Nancy, who works there and always seems to be the one there when I come to visit.
Stopped by Highwater Clays and bought some tools... I could've stayed there much longer than I did. Saw these pieces on the wall... great colors.The artists are Will Ruggles and Douglass Rankin.

Then it was onto Laughing Seed Cafe... one of my favorite restaurants. Got take-out there-- they have the best tempeh reuben's I've ever eaten! :) As you can see, I was hungry.
Then it was off to Black Mountain. Stopped by the best bookstore out there- Montreat Bookstore... and managed to buy only three books. The owner, Mary even recognized me. Gosh.... How I love to read. This is the most dangerous part of the bookstore for me (where all 3 books came from). The Walter Brueggemann section, with the new arrivals to the right.


Saw these gorgeous stoles there too. The green one in the middle is my favorite.
Then stopped by Seven Sisters Gallery in Black Mountain and laughed as I read Michael Andreas cards and got some great ideas from the pottery there. I like the glaze on these.
Look at the shape and colors on this tumbler.

And these...

Don't know the artist on either....
Finally, the best for last.
This is the kind of view I saw all day... this is at Montreat. I could easily live in this part of the world.
Here, the sun is getting ready to set. Maybe the Presbyterian church needs a Lutheran pastor.
There was even traces of snow in Black Mountain. Decided to finish my trip by taking a long run. I'm continuing to build up my endurance, which is encouraging. I love running in colder weather.

The day flew by! A full, peace-filled day. Being in Asheville made me want to return to the wheel, instead of come home. That's a very good thing.