We've done our part, now just have to get some renovatin' done

We trudged up a bunch of stuff to the mountain place in Seven Devils. And we even have picked out the paint colors, flooring, kitchen plan, cabinets and more. We still have to get some appliances, but we are hopeful that in just a couple of months (fingers crossed), it will be done, and we can start enjoying it (or enjoying some rental income from it - double fingers crosse). Oh, and we even got some Broyhill furniture to be delivered when it's done.

If you are interesting in renting it (look for an early June start), let us know at collards12@yahoo.com

It's ours!

Well, this weekend we closed on the new house in Seven Devils. The "bones" of this place are really spectacular; aside from some cosmetic improvements, there's not much that has to be done to it.

We are very excited about making this place a home away from home -- not just for us but for friends and family.

Check out the view.

Check out the view from the hot tub! I can't wait to enjoy a warm dip with snow all around me.

We have a little over a month's worth of stuff to get done to it, but then it should be rent-able. Stay tuned!

Slip-slidin' in Seven Devils

Ya gotta love Google Alerts. How else would I come across this?

"Fresh snowflakes frosted my face as I scanned what appeared to be a slope of sugar," writes Joe Tennis of Tri-Cities.com.

This was midday at Hawksnest, the largest tubing operation in North Carolina’s High Country.

Ice added icing to my doughnut-shaped inner tube while, bravely, I shoved off the slope, suddenly sliding down as fast as a freight train.

SWISH!

I rushed with the wind.

And, at once, I swore I could tame the terrain.

Like a broom, I swiftly swept that slippery slope, stretching as wide as three bowling lanes and as long as a couple of football fields.

Oh, how I could tube!

Click on the link for more.

Bad weather = good skiing

Well, here in Raleigh, we've been worn down by the amount of snow, chilling weather and ice we've had. (It's rather abnormal.)

There is, of course, a positive to the weather. From the Johnson City (Tenn.) Press:

If terms like mogul, schuss and slalom are creeping into your vocabulary, you’re probably aware that it’s ski season here in the Appalachians.

Most of the ski resorts opened in early December, thanks to a good natural snowfall to establish a base and freezing temperatures to allow the snow making machines to roar into action.

It was the invention of snow making equipment and the willingness of resort operators to invest millions in snow making equipment that made skiing an Appalachian pasttime.

Skiers from Johnson City usually gravitate to Sugar Mountain in Banner Elk or Ski Beech in Beech Mountain, N.C., as the closest resorts. Ober Gatlinburg is farther, but most of the drive is on interstate highways.

Other North Carolina resorts include Appalachia Ski Mountain, starting its 49th season in Blowing Rock, and Hawksnest Ski Resort at Seven Devils, N.C.

Marketing Director Kim Jochl at Sugar Mountain said she wasn’t able to go skiing before work Wednesday because there was too much paperwork at the office. Too bad, because she reports that all 20 slopes and seven lifts are operating, plus the magic carpet ride in the tubing area. Sugar Mountain has a base of 38-80 inches with manmade powder on top. “Conditions are fantastic,” Jochl said.

Taking a(nother) plunge

Well, we are in the process of taking another real estate plunge, this one about, oh, 7 hours away from our first one in Carolina Beach and Our Beach Place.

I don't want to jinx it, but we're under contract on a wonderful home with breathtaking views in Seven Devils, in the Boone, Banner Elk and Blowing Rock area. We are very excited, and we will bring you updates on the (somewhat minor) renovations that the home will need.

Stay tuned!