Back in the Saddle

Well, it's Monday morning, and I'm back at work. We got home from our weekend trip yesterday evening. We had a great time. We left home early Saturday morning and stopped for a nice breakfast before we left town. I had a Belgian waffle, which was heavenly! During the week, I usually eat a bowl of oatmeal or some cottage cheese and fruit. So, a hot waffle that's crusty on the outside and soft on the inside with a huge dollop of melting butter and warm syrup is a special treat for me.

We got to Seagrove around 10:00 AM and found the visitor's center. Seagrove was not exactly what I had expected. I had a quaint little village in my head with all of these potteries within walking distance of the downtown area. Instead, it's a small town with potteries scattered here and there along Highway 705, also known as Potters Highway. So, instead of walking to all of the potteries, we had to drive to most of them. There are a few that are close together right in the heart of the downtown area. We did get a few nice pieces. My husband likes pieces that have a salt glaze (which has a speckled appearance). I got a beautiful cyrstalline bud vase in blue and yellow, which just happens to match my kitchen perfectly. They actually grow crystals on the pots somehow and it makes a really pretty design. I dont' know much about pottery and the different glazes, but the potters are very friendly and are more than happy to show you how they make these beautiful pots. Even though we saw a bunch of beautiful pottery, my favorite shop was actually a yarn shop. They were having a "hooker" party when we went in. For those of you who don't crochet or knit, that is what they call it when a group gets together to knit/crochet. My poor husband was such a good sport. There were about 40 women packed into this tiny shop, and then there was my husband. I bought some beautiful wool yarn on sale. She had some beautiful items already made, but I couldn't afford any of those.

We ate a delicious lunch at a little family restaurant just outside Seagrove. I had a marinated steak salad that was wonderful. We then made our way over to Pinehurst, which is an absolutely gorgeous little town. We didn't know it, but they were having an arts & crafts festival Saturday. So we walked around downtown looking at all the goodies. We stayed in the Pinecrest Inn that night. It's a lovely old inn that's probably 100 years old or more. Once again, the best part about it was the dinner and breakfast that was included in our stay. Yes, in case you haven't caught on already, everything seems to revolve around food for me. hehe I got a prime rib that was huge. I ate about 1/3 of it and hated leaving it there. My husband got a pork chop that was humongous. He couldn't eat all of his either. We were so stuffed, but we couldn't pass up the homemade key lime pie. We asked for it to go so we could eat it later in the room.

We got up Sunday morning and enjoyed a nice breakfast before checking out and heading home. The weather was so nice all weekend (cool with a little breeze and bright blue skies). So, even the drive home was nice. Autumn is my favorite time of year, and I love to watch the leaves fall as we drive along. It was a lovely, relaxing weekend -- just what I needed. Oh, and on the reading front, I jumped right back into On Agate Hill last night and read for about an hour. I think I was just stressed to the max last week. By the way, thanks to all of you who left me such sweet, encouraging comments. It means a lot!