A Precious Refuge

 

The A's peaceful mountain refuge they so graciously share.
Such a blessing!
Such a sweet retreat!
A little Heaven on Earth:)

A Sweet Postscript

 

As of this morning Skye has been assigned a dorm at Appalachian State University!
I am breathing a sigh of relief & am feeling quite grateful.

I must say at midnight last night she & I both were pretty down.
She called to say she checked her App email this weekend & found App had, via email, offered her a dorm sometime the first of last week, with June 18th being the deadline to accept.
She wasn't able to check her email till Sat./Sunday, the 21st/22nd.
Immediately upon reading the note she wrote a reply to App Housing, telling of her situation.
At about 10am this morning, with a heavy weight lifted, Skye called me at Hallmark to say the Housing Director had given her a room:)
WHOA!
After getting off the phone and going to the back of the store I simply cried.

God IS faithful
He IS the Great Provider.
Why do I fear?
Why do I worry?

App This Fall?

 
Last weekend Keith, Skye & I attended Appalachian State's Orientation for Skye's fall semester.
It was a day of promise, of finding out if Skye would get a dorm room & a time to organize and get help from her advisor with her schedule. A day of gathering material and getting things together.

The first thing we found out was that there were no dorm's available for transfer students, period. The freshman class is the largest ever. Now we knew that might happen, but Skye had gotten her deposit for a dorm in asap and we thought her chances were maybe 75% to get a room. The tough part was that by the end of the day we found out App had known this for 2 months but didn't communicate that to the transfer students--UGH!

Also, Skye's App Studies advisor didn't show & couldn't be reached:( The English advisor helped as much as she could.
People were kind but the promising weekend was turning into a nightmare.

By 3pm, when all the Orientation stuff was finished, the 3 of us rushed to the library to grab a computer & start calling Realty companies. Now I had asked a friend for use of her mt. cottage for two nights in case this might happen, little knowing the rental companies close at 5pm Friday--another UGH moment:(
Holten Realty thought they had something. We dashed over to find the room had been taken:(
They were sympathetic and kind and encouraging.
We put Skye's name on a list.

We felt beaten to a pulp:(
But--we had done all we could.
Skye & I needed a little Mast General Store time but I must say our hearts weren't in it.
At the end of the day the one good thing; ending up at the Aasland's dear cottage near West Jefferson. One of the most peaceful places imaginable. We escaped for a while.

The tough thing about this search is that Skye is in the wilds of Ridge Haven Camp & does not have computer time during the week. And she'll be there most of the summer. Grabbing weekend computer time will be crutial.

So, the search for Skye's room or apt. or roommate with apt. in Boone goes on---- from Brevard & Apex.

Some Camp Time

 

Last weekend Keith & I went up to Ridge Haven Retreat & Conference Center near Brevard, NC. This is where Skye is living and working this summer. It's a beautiful area, next door to Gorges State Park, NC's newest state park. Gorges S.P. & Ridge Haven are in 'waterfall' country.
Spectacular scenery and amazing hiking terrain.

Wanted to share this photo of some of the Ridge Haven campers having a sweet time in the mud! Counselors and campers are intertwined here--brave folks:)
We asked that they didn't come too close:)
We waved from a safe distance:)

This week Skye had her first group of campers so it will be neat to hear how that went:)
We heard she was pretty tired. Imagine that!

The 2 Redheaded Girls:)

 

I truly enjoy this fun college duo:) They are 2 of the 3 of our redheaded Hallmark girls (Anna, our red-headed teacher/my hero, is missing here).

We are saying goodbye to Erin on the left and I'm pretty sad about that:(
She's going to Wilmington to pursue her education at Cape Fear Community College.

Kendra will be with us through the summer--hurray:)
During the fall/winter/spring she attends UNC-Wilmington:)

Y'all are such cuties, Erin & Kendra:)!!
Luv ya:)

Yea Yvonne

 
This is my sweetheart of a manager, Yvonne:)
I love my job at Hallmark because of this lady & her devotion to God, her husband Jimmy & her two sons and daughters in law & extended family, the owners of our Hallmark store, & the staff she hires, nurtures, takes 'great' patience with, and cares for.

She's a NC girl like me:) We grew up in similar settings with the same values--and we're the same age. Now that means a lot:)

Soon she'll be known as "Nana Vonne" because her son Ashley & daughter in law Ali are expecting her (& Jimmy's) first grandchild! (I'm worried she may skip town forever after this long-awaited precious little one arrives; Ash & Ali live far away in Charlotte)

Working for/with Yvonne is one of the most enjoyable things of my life.
I am blessed:
Yea for Yvonne!)!

My New Toy

 
For Father's Day, Keith gave me a sweet Trek Navigator bike:)
(I think he said that because now he'll have company on his trek's around town:))
It's a dark maroon color, with stylized flowers splashed here & there:)

On this extremely warm June evening, with Keith on his Duke blue Electra Townie, I took my maroon Navigator Trek for it's 'maiden vogage' to Lake Pine. Befitting the occasion I wore my new pink/black/white racing helmet--whoa, what a sight!
And on the way home we stopped by Micky D's for a bite of supper, a rare happening for us anymore.

Bike riding is such a pleasant way spend time outdoors.
It feels so freeing to me.
And coasting in the breeze is icing on the cake, especially in weather like this!
Come join us!