Is summer really over? Does anyone else feel like it just flew by? As much as the official calendar doesn’t tell me it’s fall, we’re back at school and back to somewhat of a routine. The month of August was a fun one as we tried to pack in everything we could when it came to time together.
Let’s start with the bad news. Not one, but TWO (2!) groundhogs decided to make a home under our porch. The first one, I believe, was from our backyard and when we mowed and cleaned that up last month it decided to find a better home. Usually we can just set out the trap, but this time it dug out of everything causing more damage.
I really dislike groundhogs.
My dad had a trap. And that did the trick. Only to find that another groundhog came along a week later. It’s now gone too. If you know what I mean.
We’re going to have to come up with some kind of plan to keep them out. They are so destructive.
Okay, back to fun stuff! At the beginning of the month we dropped the kids off at their grandparents and spent a few days away in Asheville, North Carolina. We stayed at a cute AirBNB (my invite link) that was perfectly placed between restaurants and things to do. We could walk to dinner but were in a little neighborhood, which was nice.
Here are a few of our favorite restaurants in Asheville to visit. My goal is always to eat foods that I could not make at home. We went with Asian one night and Caribbean the second night. And for breakfast, my husband found a country ham biscuit that he devoured.
Biscuit Head for Breakfast
Nine Mile for Dinner
Red Ginger for Dinner
Old Europe Pastries for Dessert
First on my agenda in Asheville was to visit the Biltmore again. If you’ve never been, you need to go! I typically only do the house tour as it’s not a cheap place to visit, but I had an entire morning to explore by myself – and it did not disappoint!
If you do decide to go, get your tickets for the 9am tour when they open. You’ll find that you have moments to yourself. By the time I left the house (about 2 hours later), it was very busy.
I had fun trying to find similarities between their house and ours. Although we don’t have a Renoir painting we do have door handles similar to this. It’s like the Biltmore is just like our house. 😉
While in Asheville, I went to the largest antique store I’ve ever shopped at, and didn’t find a thing to buy. Can you believe that? Don’t get me wrong, there were many thing I would have liked to have bought. However, the antiques were much pricier in Asheville than they are in Ohio.
Favorite Antique Places to Shop in Asheville:
The Tobacco Barn – Really large antique store. It was fun to look through everything – but wear comfortable shoes!
Antiques at Riverview Station
Sweeten Creek Antiques – Really enjoyed this antique store. It was a good size but not overwhelming.
Bryant Antiques – This one was the nicest and more organized. But also the pricey. But that seemed to be the trend in Asheville.
When we got back home we worked on the barn roof. And by we, I mean by brother. It’s had a large hole in it for years and my brother patched it up for us. Of course, he now has his sprayer parked below it, so it’s win all around. The barn lean-to looks terrible, so I’m hoping we’re going to get it fixed this fall. Everything happens slow around here when you need the help of your farmer brother. He’s got his crops to think of first, and rightly so. I’ll just be glad when we can get this project done.
Since the weather was a bit cooler this month, we spent some time fishing and riding our bikes at a nearby trail that used to be a railroad bed. We were literally trying to soak up every single last drop of summer…
…including going to the pool on the very last day it was open until they shut it down! The ice cream truck came which was very exciting for these country boys. Ice cream trucks do not drive down country roads that do not have lines down the middle.
And just like that, school started. I really look back and wonder what we did all month but we tried to pack it in. The boys had their traditional picture in front of the old screen doors. I’m hoping to refinish them this week. Fingers crossed I’ll figure out how to do that well.
All in all, I have to say it was a great summer filled with lots of moments to be together. This picture captures it for me. I’m reading a book. My youngest is drawing a picture. And the ground hog trap is in the background. Alongside that is the “walking stick” we drove back from New York state because my oldest found it there at camp. And all of that is surrounded by a great view of our front yard.
We still have a few months of warmer weather, but I will miss these non-routine days. Although at the same time it’s nice to have a routine again.
By the way, the picture above is similar to the new homepage on Cleverly Simple. This month I worked with a developer to implement a design change. What do you think? I’m working through the site to make things easier to search for. I’d love to know if you have any suggestions!
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