Waves of mountains

Research

Click it. You'll like it. 

This is right outside of town. Possibly within striking distance on mi bicicleta.

Leaving embellish for the last time

Dream, plan, do
(2008)

On New Year's Eve 2013, after finishing work for the day, I headed up to embellish to do my normal jobs:

• Take the garbage and recycling out
• Bring the sign, dog treats, and water bowl inside
• Climb the ladder up to the storage area in the back room and mutter f-bombs as I crawl on my knees through seven years of accumulated shit searching for god knows what

Then, it was over. I looked around, dumbfounded. I didn't need to do anything.

That was it.

Moving forward

I walked behind the cash-wrap station (technical term) and hugged my wife.

I had no idea I would be as profoundly affected as I was at that moment. We'd been thinking about it, discussing it, and planning it for a long time. But now, the time was here.

We locked the door and took a few selfies. Final selfies (no boobs or butts, though I tried) - because the store was no longer ours.

Suddenly, I started tearing up. And if you know me, that means it was totally over. I held it back for a little bit, and then... Niagra Falls!

Throughout my entire life, those words have always been followed by the classic Three Stooges bit. Not this time.

This time, I was all emo up in there. I cried for at least an hour.

Giving the wife some "props"

Forgive my sentimentality, but my wife really built something special - something that matters to the community. I've never been so proud of her as I was right then.

Not only did she have the guts to start a business, she had the guts to know when it was time to walk away. You see, for as different as my wife and I are, there's one way that we've always been the same: We're either all-in, or we're out.

Barb built a great store because she lived and breathed it for 5-and-a-half years. But as the cliche goes, it took a 24/7/365 effort.

Carrie - one of Barb's best friends - owns embellish now, and I know she'll kick ass. I'm really happy for her to be back doing what she loves to do. And i think she has an "off" button, which will help her preserve her sanity.

Closing the door

Walking out of the store for the last time was weird. But so is life.

And so it goes. 

But let's be honest, we'll probably see embellish Asheville by 2015, right?

The gang's all here

Peanut (AKA: Big P, Master P, Phatty P)

The "Get Everyone Ready To Move To Asheville in Their Cat Carriers Party" (GERTMTATCCP) has been a huge success. Everyone has participated!

Sugs, from Honey's pov

Once again, my wife proves she's brilliant. Before I do anything, I should stop and think to myself, "Is this how my brilliant wife would do it?"

I won't. I'm content to go through life as a stupid, stupid boy.

But it's a great idea, in theory.

Honey, on board since day one

Showers or death?



I can't...feel...my...face

OMG, there's a chance of snow showers in Asheville next Monday!

Meanwhile...

If you go outside in Chicago, you might die.



The magic number is: 18

Honey, ready to roll

My wife is pretty smart. Just ask her.

With less than three weeks to go, she's decided we should start prepping the cats to drive from Chicago to Asheville. Because what's more fun than driving 650 miles with two sensitive dogs and three completely insane cats?

Nothing.

To help ease everyone into it, Barb pulled out the cat transportation modules (CTMs) and put cat beds in them. Honey's been all over it.

Sugar (foreground) likes to sleep in another carrier that faces this one, but in this shot, she's content to just hang near her sister.

Prediction

I think the drive - all two days of it - will go perftectltly.

Of course, it can always turn into cat hell in an instant, but that's when we're going to really count on the dogs to settle things down.

Beer/Cow Fart City, USA

Yeasty the cow

I don't even live there yet, but every day I fall more and more in love with Asheville.

Yeast + stuff = beer

Where else but Beer City, USA would a former biochemist be inspired to make brownies with spent brewer's yeast?

Here's the gist. No matter how eco-friendly they intend to be, locally breweries ultimately create waste. In fact, Highland Brewing Co. already creates 200 tons of spent yeast per year, but when New Belgium's brewery is up and running, it will add 2,000 annually, according to the citizen-times.

You can't just dump all that yeast down the drain. And if you feed it to cows - like you can with brewer's grain - well, you could blow up the world.

Yeast + cows = gas

As the aforementioned biochemist, Robert "Rusty" Bryant say, "Yeast is 80 percent alive and creates gas in cows."

Can't have that. Seriously.

Then comes one of the best statements I've read in print for quite some time:

"An environmentally friendly brewery trying to dispose of its byproducts isn't interested in having cows rip a hole in the ozone layer with methane emissions as a result."

Can you believe that? God, I love Asheville. I'm reading online, but that's the local newspaper talking about cow farts ripping holes in the ozone layers y'all!

I can't wait to get to Asheville.

Seriously.

Weather

Asheville weather bump!

Wow. Take a look at that!

The disparity the week before was even more dramatic, as the weather was extremely shitty in Chicago. Single-digit-temperature shitty.

But that's living in the past.

Looking forward, Cricket and Lula (our dogs) are very excited to ditch their winter booties and run around in a back yard that doesn't have any:

• Salt
• Slush
• Taste of frozen death upon it