Living and Loving in Asheville

Oh, Asheville! How I love living here!! Especially in West Asheville. Right now I have the front door open and can hear the band playing outside at the corner taco restaurant (less than a block away). The guitar playing is quite good. Their singing is enjoyable and they are playing songs from my era and before. 

My adorable husband has just driven up from his visit to the local pub. He absolutely loves the craft beers he can get here. I don't think I've mentioned that Asheville is known for its craft breweries. In addition to loving me, Bill loves craft beer and he loves coffee. 

When we were newly a couple and still living in Raleigh we talked about creating a book on craft beer. It was definitely his idea. We were going to visit local breweries and write a book about what we thought, etc. I remember saying that the idea had so much potential and that we may need to go to Germany as part of our research. His answer was "If we gotta, we gotta". It is classic Bill. Now we say that often. You know, if we gotta, we gotta. We will just do what it takes. I think that's the gist.  

So far we haven't started any writing on this book, but we did move to Asheville where the craft beer scene is. That's sort of a start.

We discussed moving to the mountains from the start of our dating life. Actually, on our second date, he told me that his plan was to retire and move to the mountains at the end of the academic year. Truthfully, I didn't know where that left me. I was already enamored with him, and he was telling me he would be leaving in less than 12 months. In that instant, I decided not to allow myself to be disappointed. It was just our second date, for goodness sake. How could I be disappointed that this guy, who I really liked, was telling me he wasn't going to be around? I decided to ignore (for the moment) the fact that he hoped not to be here come next summer. A year is a long time after all. 

Bill was clear that he wanted to retire, and that he also wanted to move to the mountains. I've often thought about living in the Asheville area. It's eclectic as well as beautiful. It has a good artist community and vibe. Lots of live music, though less so since COVID. But, I had more years to work before retirement. 

Fast-forward and Bill decided to stay and teach one semester longer. Also, I decided I could retire way early. We both had retirement dates scheduled for the end of 2021! --Just over a year after Bill originally told me of his plan. We also confirmed we wanted to move TOGETHER to Asheville and we bought our adorable bungalow in October. We were fully moved in in January of 2022.  What a difference a year makes!

We live on the same block as one of the most visited taco restaurants. --They love tacos here in Asheville. We are a couple of blocks away from a coffee shop that Bill goes to each morning. We are a block away from a pizza restaurant and a craft brewery. We get to watch people as they walk back from their taco experience to their cars. We see people on the way back home with coffee in hand from the coffee shop. 

I promised pictures so long ago. Here are a few.

Closing Day

What's Happening

I live in Asheville now. I binge-watch shows on Netflix and Amazon. I drink coffee in bed every single morning!  Some days (like today) I lounge in bed until noon-ish. Mind you, I'm not sleeping until noon...I'm awake. I'm doing things or at least thinking about things. I play Wordle. I check out Google News on my phone. It's the news Google thinks I'm most interested in so far it hasn't really been wrong. It's more like soft news, really. Or, not really news at all.

The algorithms have it right for me. I don't want hard news. It's way too heartbreaking. I know what's going on. I have opinions about it, as does everyone else. My views haven't changed much since I was in high school. My values are very much the same. 

I live in a cottage that was built in the 1920s. The floors are uneven, but it has the original wood floors. There are a few improvements we hope to make, but none that are urgent. I love this place as it is. Even if we never make improvements, there is nowhere else I'd rather live.

My girlfriends and I still have Girl's Night. It's a little harder for me to navigate because I'm coming from almost four hours away. But, Girl's Night helps sustain me. It is incredible to have friends that know you now and knew you as a teen as well. Our hearts are the same. These women make my life so much fuller. 

I'll be married before the next Girl's Night. 

Every time I come here to start a post, I stall because of the time since the last one. My instinct is to tell every little thing that's happened since I last wrote. But, a laundry list of activities would not be interesting would they? 

I'm still "retired", though I work for "fun". I have a lovely part-time job downtown in the Federal Courthouse Building. It gives me a place to go each morning and a place to wear my cute clothes. I really enjoy wearing work clothes. I work 25 hours a week, with genuinely kind people. My role is really small, yet they say I'm helpful. It's lovely to feel useful without having significant responsibilities. There is zero stress for me. Just show up, do my part, and go home. It's wonderful.

I took a job at the beginning of the year. It was full-time and one that used just the right amount of my knowledge and experience. I was competent very quickly. I knew the concepts, I just needed to learn the computer application, which was quite intuitive. What threw me was that I didn't fit in. I was excluded socially. Mean Girls still exist in the world of work. I hadn't experienced that before. I've experienced difficult personalities before, but not Mean Girls. 

I remember experiencing a surprise interaction that I did not know how to reconcile. I texted my friend who I used to work with. She and I easily became friends outside of work...but she knows the "work me." She said, "These are not your people. You need to leave now." She was right. They weren't my people. 

That whole awful experience made me remember that life is too short! 

Happy New Year

Happy New Year. This year holds so many promises that are both awesome and scary. But mostly awesome.

Yesterday was my last day at work. I've officially retired as of yesterday. I have been with the company for nine years! It really was a good fit for me. I was competent and I was a resource for others. I liked that feeling. I'm sad to let that go.

My new chapter will begin in Asheville in mid-January. This is the fourth time I've moved in January in five years! I've tried to downsize my stuff each time. But I'm always overwhelmed when it's time to pack up and move again.

We bought the house Asheville house in the Fall. I hope to be finished with moving after this one. Owning a house again is big. I had said I didn't want to own again. My last house was just too big to make sense. When I left the last house I began apartment living in earnest. Each apartment I've lived in has been new with beautiful new appliances and lovely finishes. My favorite thing in all of the apartments has been the porches. I've made sure each porch has faced east, where the sun rises and slowly heats up while providing so much light! 

I said I wouldn't own again, but things changed. This is house everything I've always wanted but thought I'd never have. Our small cottage (962 SF) was built in 1927. It's in an area of Asheville that includes older houses, most have had some updating and new infill homes. The new infill homes are larger with modern architectural detailing. The neighborhood is eclectic. 

Here's a sneak peek at the charmer.  There are many more pics to come.