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Saturday, November 3, 2012

Dona Nobis Pacem - BlogBlast for Peace 2012


Today, Nov. 4, 2012 is BlogBlast for Peace - an online event begun in 2006 by Mimi Lenox.  We are proud to say that this is our third year taking part.  Each one of us has the capability to bring peace into the world and it begins with ourselves.



“World peace must develop from inner peace. Peace is not just mere absence of violence. Peace is, I think, the manifestation of human compassion.”
― Dalai Lama XIV




"Each one has to find his peace from within. And peace to be real must be unaffected by outside circumstances."
- Mahatma Gandhi



"Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without."
- Buddha



"The first peace, which is the most important, is that which comes within the souls of people when they realize their relationship, their oneness with the universe and all its powers, and when they realize that at the center of the universe dwells the Great Spirit, and that this center is really everywhere, it is within each of us."
- Black Elk

May peace be with you.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Weekend Wanderings - Church Street


First off - it is not Snowball's Gotcha Day - the CB calendar is incorrect - his Gotcha Day was in September and we had a party then for him.

Now that you are here tho - welcome to the bean's weekend wanderings post - this week it is Church Street in Asheville NC.  This street has hosted several congregations since the mid 19th century!  This first building is not a church but sits at the head of Church Street.  The scroll around the building is pretty cool with faces and leaves - bignify to see better.




The Central United Methodist Church met in a frame building beginning in 1837, but the current building was not erected until 1902. Designed by Richard H. Hunt of Tennessee and built by James Madison Westall, the imposing limestone church presents Romanesque Revival style massing and forms, but the detailing more closely reflects the Gothic Revival style. 


In 1884, the leaders of First Presbyterian Church commissioned a new building to serve the growing congregation and to provide space for the increasing number of tourists who visited Asheville each summer. The Gothic Revival style brick nave and tower feature deep-corbelled cornices, hood-molded windows and blind arcading at the eaves. Built at a cost of $8,000, the new church could accommodate 600 worshipers. As the congregation has continued to grow steadily, so has the church building been renovated and enlarged over the years.


Huge tree in front of the Methodist Church



Trinity Episcopal Church stands on the southeastern corner of Church and Aston streets. Nationally known architect Bertram Goodhue of the New York-based firm of Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson designed the building in 1912. The Tudor Gothic Revival style brick building with granite trim features a simple, gable-roofed sanctuary with transepts and a short corner tower. The interior opens to an attractive hammer beam ceiling and panel tracery fills the stained glass windows  (info from http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/asheville/chu.htm)

Have a great weekend ya'll!

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

The Zombies Are Coming.....


The zombies are coming
said tiny Sweetpea.
The zombies are coming.
They're coming for me!

Oh what shall I do?
Oh where shall I go?
I see one right now,
outside the window!


With a crash and a bang,
she was inside!
I looked here and there
but there was no place to hide!




She  grabbed me tightly 
with her bony claw.
I felt her teeth sink deeply
into my paw.


The zombies are coming
said tiny Sweetpea.
The zombies are coming.
Only this time, it's ME,
Zombie Sweetpea!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Monday, October 29, 2012

A Pink Lady Ghost Story





You know how much Mom loves Halloween so here is a good ghost story.  The ghost resides at the legendary Grove Park Inn - a very haunting looking building itself, dating from the early 1900's.  The rock building glows at night in stark contrast against the sky. Let's go inside shall we?


The main entrance is decorated festively for the season with  huge pumpkins, gourds and corn stalks. Straight ahead is the Great Hall anchored at both ends by two massive fireplaces—each large enough to burn 12-foot long  logs and each containing an elevator.  These  hand-operated wonders run alongside the chimney shafts within the rock work of  the great fireplaces and transport guests and luggage to the upper floors.  To our left is the Front Desk where guests register. As you can see, at night the flicker of lights add to the eerie look of the place.  People say they have seen the Pink Lady in various places in the hotel. Seems fitting to see a ghost in a place like this.










Now that we are inside, let me tell you about the Pink Lady, a young lady in a diaphanous pink gown. The story goes that she was having a rendezvous at the hotel during the 1920's with a gentleman, most likely married.  It seems her heart was broken at a debutante ball and she either fell or jumped to her death from the fifth floor of the Palm Court Atrium.  Some say that she was pregnant and her lover found out, pushing her to her death rather than face a scandal.


To get to the Palm Court we go up in the old elevator built inside the rock fireplace to the fifth floor overlooking the atrium.  The elevator is old, creaky and has one of those old fashioned gated to close. The room most associated with the Pink Lady is room 545, two stories above the Palm Court Atrium floor - probably the room she and her lover stayed in.

Elevator to the Palm Court Atrium.


Room 545.


Palm Court Atrium today.
Do feel cold air on you?  Is your hair standing on end?  With no one around, this place is very creepy.

A painter from the late 1950s or early 60s and the hotel's current  engineering facilities manager have reported strikingly similar tales about room  545. Both got cold chills on their way into the room so severe they never again  attempted to enter. Interestingly, neither employee knew of the other's  experience, or about room 545's connection to the Pink Lady.

Another employee  who has seen the Pink Lady several times over the past five years describes the  apparition as "a real dense smoke - a pinkish pastel that just flows. It's a  real gentle spirit, whatever it is."  Guests who have seen her say she is a beautiful girl with long dark hair.  She is mischievous and turns off lights, opens closet doors, and even pulls the covers off sleeping guests.



Well - Mom didn't see or feel anything unusual on her visits but others say the air feels heavy and their hair stands on end when in the Atrium alone late at night.  If you look real close I think you will see the Pink Lady.....


Boooooo....heehee.  Got ya didn't I? It's me Ivy!  More ghost stories coming this week so stay tuned.



We want to send our prayers and purrs for all those in the path of this horrific storm Sandy.  Be safe - humans and critters alike.

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Weekend Wanderings - Halloween

Grove Park Inn, Asheville





It has been a busy few days at our house - Pop was away, Chica, Yoko and Joey were sick and Mom was handling it all by her self.  Everything is fine now so better late than never for our weekend post - just tin time for Halloween.

Mom works at an art gallery inside this hotel.  The Grove Park Inn was built in 1913.  Perfect for spooky occasions like this.  They go all out for Halloween with a pumpkin carving contest, Trick or Treat and a party!

Flower display in Great Hall

Pumpkin spider
 Some of the entries were very creative this year - lots of fun checking them all out.  Do stop back each day before Halloween and we have special posts planned!  What are you dressing up as for Halloween?

Kitty pumpkin


Green man pumpkin


Blue octopus pumpkin


Mummy pumpkin