Snow!

[revwardoc]

I've been reading that Abbington, VA is a nice little town but we're still looking.

[Packo]

far Western Va. It is really nice in that area and you are not far from Bristol, Tn/Va, Johnson City, Tn. and Western NC. You will still get some winter in that area but usually nothing like Mass and spring comes earlier. You'll need to check your accent at the door though.....still pretty much older South in that area, but nothing to worry about. If I was moving back to VA....but too far North for me anymore, it would be South Central, Martinsville/Danville/or South Boston area, or where your thinking about going, far western Virginia. I almost took a job a few years back at a hospital in Danville. Deb and I found a home in the historic district that in Beaufort would have been close to a million. It even had a wine cellar. One of the most beautiful old homes I've been in....completely restored. The last day we were in town, the realtor called and said that the owner, who had money, would give it to us for 100K. Pighumper had come from Winston to look at it and he found it in almost PERFECT condition. We almost bought it for investment property because I declined the job in Danville. You may want to look there also. Lots of manufacturing closed so houses are cheap. Real close to Greensboro, NC, High Point, NC, and Winston-Salem. All nice cities....but cheaper to live in Danville. It was also the last capital of the Confederacy so it's a sacred city.

Sic Semper Tyrannis!

Pack

[Keith_Hixson]

Four more inches of snow.

Keith

[Seascamp]

I lived near Johnson City, TN, for a while, kind of a nice blend of really old, old and new. One of my customers, Duke Power, has main offices in Charlotte, NC, and that is a nice scenic drive. Eastern TN, didn’t really sign up with the Confederacy but kind went with flow and kept their heads down. The mountainous terrain doesn’t lend it’s self well to plantation operations of the time so I suppose they figured they didn’t have a dog in that fight or more likely, they were somewhat isolated at the time. More characteristic of the area at the time was small subsistence farms with many having land grant deeds “For services rendered” during the American Revolutionary war. A friend let me read his Great Grandmothers cival war Journal. She went on and on about 'hungry boys' getting after her chickens and eggs, though not really distinguishing Union or Confederate hungry boys. Seemed like that we all just hungry boys to her.

The weather is fairly mellow, though I did see big old Oak tree plucked out of the ground like a carrot during tornado season, yikes. It did snow once and the place came to a screeching halt-no snow removal equipment, so that was that for that until the snow melted. Not a bad idea actually, but I had no excuse because I had brought my 4X4 from Nevada. The only southern accent I can clearly recognize is that of Western Virginia, it is unique in cadence, word choice and succinctness. Oh, one of the first questions I got was “You a Yankee?” More a curiosity question than an aggressive question.
One nice thing about the area is that can be as rural or urban as you wish. Probably one of the few remaining places where a house can be described as “two bedrooms and a path”

Scamp

[revwardoc]

I read about how George Washington was amazed at the winter weather in MA during the 1775-1776 winter. He said that while they did get now in VA, it melted in a day or so but in MA it snowed, and snowed some more, and snowed some more and didn't melt until March. Personally, I'm getting tired of it. Winter loses its magic the first time you pick up shovel and the first time you go into a skid on an icy road. And when you've got a titanium plate holding your spine together, shoveling becomes even more of a chore.

[Keith_Hixson]

Expecting more this week.

[1CAVCCO15MED]

I live in East Tennessee and have been to Abington many times. It is a beautiful little town. It is home to the Barter Theater and the Martha Washington Inn. The Barter was started by Robert Porterfield, an unemployed New York actor during the Great Depression. He reasoned that the place for hungry actors to go in a country without money was to the farming country where the food was. At least you could be paid in food if nobody had money. He accepted farm produce in the place of money for the price of a ticket. The actors ate and we hillbillies got our Shakespeare. It went over big time. Some of the starving unknown actors who came with him were people like Gregory Peck, Patricia Neal, Ned Beatty, Hume Cronym and Ernest Borgnine.

The Martha Washington Inn is in an old boarding school for daughters of coal barons from the late 1800's and early 1900's. It started a a private mansion but was tuned into the boarding school in 1858. It went bust in the 1930's and became the boarding house for the aforementioned actors of the Barter then was turned into the inn.

A really great weekend getaway is to stay in the Martha Washinton and go to the Barter Theater which is across the street. Hillbilly accomodations at their best: http://www.marthawashingtoninn.com/

It is not far from the Carter Family Fold where Shakesperian poetry was still being created into the 20th century:

YouTube - The Carter Family - Wildwood Flower

[Raggedy Ann]

Well Spokane sure has its share of snow. December 17th it started snowing and 24 hours later we had received 30" of snow. It snowed the next day bringing the total to 39". We left for 2 weeks to go to San Francisco for the holidays and while we were gone, Spokane kept getting dumped with snow. Total was 60" over a two week period. Then it snowed again giving a total of 69". We arrived home on Saturday to 69" of snow and 9 degrees. Last night it snowed another 6" and more is due tonight. Needless to say Spokane has broken an all time record of snow fall. Tom is now searching for a snowblower. What a winter this has been all over the US.

Raggedy Ann

[Packo]

Your right. Only going to 77 today....made 80 yesterday. Nights are cold.....50's. I see we are in for some winter by the weekend. High's only in the 50's and lows in the mid 30's. Can't wait until late Feb when winter leaves us alone.

Pack

[Raggedy Ann]

Packo
I'm just laughing, laughing, and laughing. Our snow will look pretty good to you come hurricane season. Snowed last night, our total on the ground is 77". Tom is really hating life right now.

Last year when we left California I traded in my PT Cruiser for a Volvo Cross Country, the best move I ever made.

Keith
How much do you have now?

Raggedy Ann