67th Anniversary of Pearl Harbor

In October, 2007, Mitchell & I had the honor of visiting the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii. It was an experience we'll never forget, and today I'm posting a couple of photos from our tour there in rememberence.

Clay's First Adventure In "ManTown"

Clay had his first trip with dad to the farm in Eden, or as it's known around here, Man Town. He was properly impressed with King's Pizza, first and foremost, and the fact that the Hampton Inn had in room video games.

He helped his dad in the blind, and was quiet, believe it or not. Dad got a doe, and Clay was very helpful, right up the part when he barfed. Oh, well, he IS Clay, after all. All in all, a successful trip. Sam was unable to go, with the crutches and all, but seemed pleased his brother got to go for the first time.

Mini Family Reunion for Beau

Gus on his back with Job (dark spots left), Beau (center), and mama Lady looking on in disgust

Beau had a short playdate with his brother, Job, and mom, Lady. They came by for a visit on Wednesday. Job had been staying with his gramma, Phyllis, while Lady got a break from motherhood with Jack and Maria on the Appalachian Trail. Their 54 mile hike probably seemed like a walk in the park to Lady, since her stint at baby duty was prolonged by Job becoming a permanent fixture in "her" home!
Job seemed to show just a little too much interest in Gus, so the visit was a quick one!
Thanks for bringing them by, Jack & Maria!

Beau gets to play with Addie!

On this beautiful fall Sunday, I took my puppy, Beau, to the Gilliland's to run off some energy with Marcy and Bob's golden, Addie. He was a little shy at first, but they had fun! The object of the play date was to run them both ragged...it worked for a little while.

Stumpin' for Sarah!

Sam and I went to the Sarah Palin rally at the Civic Center last Sunday afternoon with Jennifer and Jake Cardillo. We waited in line for about 1-1/2 hours to see her. It was sure an experience. We enjoyed it, and Sam collected buttons and bought a McCain/Palin t-shirt to wear to school. What a wonderful way to annoy a few teachers! It was a great learning experience for him, and he and Jake insisted on walking right throught the Obama "zombie" protestors outside afterward!

Pumpkin Carving Party at the Cardillo's

We had a fun time with lots of people on Sunday night for the annual carving party at the Cardillo's house. The kids got awards for their skills, and there was great food and a HAUNTED HOUSE to boot! No school on Monday, so we were able to stay around for a while.

Meet Beau

Meet our new friend "Beau" (f.k.a. Rudy). If you look in the September 15 post, he's one of the puppies riding shotgun on Gus's back. He was my birthday present from Mitchell, and he was sure a surprise! What a trip to have a puppy in the house again...been a LONG time! Gus is adjusting; he seems to feel sorry for the little bugger. They are becoming good friends, especially since Beau came with a big "real" bone that Gus takes from him. They're cute together! Stay tuned for more photos!

First Day of Fall

My favorite plantings in a grape bucket on the back terrace. It has gotten huge over the summer, but won't be around much longer!

Happy Birthday, Mitchell!

Happy 49th birthday to my darling husband!

JVs now 3-0, with a fabulous win over TC Roberson last Thursday, 21-20! Very exciting!

Midgets now 2 - 1, with another pasting on the Owen Quarter Horses on Saturday night!

The photo of Gus was taken last Friday, when Jack & Maria came to visit, bringing their dog, Lady (a Britney Spaniel), and her 5 puppies. What a hoot...Gus had a great time, and they seemed fascinated with Uncle Gus!

Football Time in Reynolds!

My big football players....JVs are now 2 - 0, youth Midgets are 1 - 1...first loss was a heartbreaker, but they pasted the opposition 44 - 0 on Saturday!

Aren't they handsome?

School Time Again!

Hmmm...September. It's been a long time since the initial post! I don't even know if anyone can read it on line, as I get a redirect message from Google that says "page not found" right after I start. Anyway, I can add new posts, so here goes.

We sold what was to be Phase II of Hollabrook Farm to Beverly-Grant of Asheville. They are commercial contractors who plan a CCRC (Continued Care Retirement Community) called The Legacy at Mills River. It has been received well, and promises to be successful. It should be built out completely in about 5 years. The decision to sell was difficult, but with the housing market the way it is, Mitch and Terry felt compelled to make the jump, and were fortunate that the buyer was ready to move.

That leaves Hollabrook Farm - the subdivision - with 99 homesites and about 60 acres. They will share the amenities (pool, clubhouse, lake) with the citizens at the Legacy, but the Legacy will have it's own indoor and outdoor pools, in addition to lots of other amenities, so overuse should not be a problem. They also intend to assist with the amenity costs, upkeep, etc., in Hollabrook Farm.

Kerry is going on a full year of professional hair styling. She recently started at Ananda salon, in lovely downtown Asheville. Her previous salon was closed, but her former employer helped her in the door at Ananda. It's a very busy, prestigious place, so we are all hoping that it will be a good move for her. She and her friend, Janelle, got an apartment a couple of months ago. Since she is now paying all her own bills, she never has any money. Oh, well. Life lessons!

Sam just started his sophomore year at AC Reynolds High School, and is playing JV football. He chipped a bone in his right hand at practice last week, but no worries. It's casted but he's clear to play! He has to wear a cast for at least a couple of more weeks.

Clay just started 6th grade at Reynolds Middle, and has the same core teachers that Sam had in 6th grade. What a blessing! We already knew them. The transistion from elementary to middle school has been smooth, so far (knock wood), and we've noticed a lot of subtle changes, all good. He also plays football (youth league), just moving up to the top age group, the "Midgets". It's all different. They had their first regular season game last Saturday, but they lost! That's only the second loss he's ever experienced in football, and he's starting his fifth season! Hopefully, they can pull it together.

I'm sighing a deep breath with all this time during the day, but I keep busy doing stuff for Mitch's business. Looking forward to a beautiful fall!

Welcome to our Thrilling Family Posts

Well, I'm finally caving to technology. This little project gives me yet one more reason to sit and fiddle around with the computer.



We Ducketts lead busy lives, although not too exciting by most standards. Mitchell continues to develop the world, currently building homes and enhancing our Hollabrook Farm project. We have five homes in various stages of development that we are building there, and attempting to sell the remaining lots. It is a lovely setting, and we hope it sells quickly, in spite of the market. Here in Applewood, we have one last completed home to sell, as the remaining two lots have sold to the neighbors, to enlarge their yards. That's great. We love our neighborhood, and our neighbors, and think it feels right to keep it the way it is! Viva Applewood!



Amy stays busy with Mitch's business, also, as the executive administrator (my own creation-sounds very important)/bookkeeper/webmaster/human resource/light fixture-countertop-cabinet picker-outer/banker, and whatever else I can do. I like the webmaster stuff, and the interior fixture stuff, but the rest of it is just okay! My children keep me busy, too, as I am the on-the-road mom, picking up & dropping off. That works-it's that time in our lives that seems to go 100 mph!



Kerry recently received her cosmetology license, after a year in Charlotte attending the "prestigious" Aveda Institute...seriously, we could've sent her to Duke for what that year cost us, but she is out in the real world, working a real job, about 3 years earlier than most of the kids she graduated with from high school. I say "real world" with tongue firmly implanted in cheek, as she DOES have a full time job, she DOES have a car and payment, but she DOES NOT live on her own. Not yet, anyway. She works at Studio Chavarria South, a very nice salon on Long Shoals Road here in Asheville. Her prospects are good! Keep her in mind for that "new look"...she's very good at what she's chosen to do in this phase of her life.



Sam is looking forward to not being a high school freshman next year. For some reason he thinks that being a sophomore will enhance his desire to do his homework. Ah, well. He's a good student anyway, and has stayed very busy this year in sports, first as an offensive guard on the junior varsity Rocket football team of A.C. Reynolds High School in beautiful downtown Fairview, NC. He loves football so much, even with all the extra work they put into it before and after the season ends. They ended this past season 8-2, tied for conference champions. Not too bad, and he got lots of good playing time towards the end of the season. I can't wait til July! He ran distance on the track team this spring-a first for us, and not too sure how "into it" I could ever be about track meets. He enjoyed it, and that's all that matters.



Our baby, Clay, will start middle school in the fall. After having at least one kid at Charles C. Bell Elementary School since 1993 (yes 15 years!), I guess they are ready for us to be gone! And those that know Clay know that we're going out with a bang! Seriously, he's come so far, and we've been fortunate in most all of our teachers there. Clay also plays football, and completed his fourth year this last fall. Once again, his team went undefeated. All through regular season and playoffs, with his 3rd Super Bowl championship under his belt. Remarkably, in his career, his team has lost only ONE game. Unfortunately, that one game was a Super Bowl game two years ago. Oh, well. He's looking forward to another stellar season, moving up in the age ranks to the "Midget" team. After sixth grade, he can stay with the youth league or move to the middle school team. Age-wise, he can play youth league through the eighth grade, if he wants to, just like his brother did. Size-wise, he may have to quit youth league after this next season, as he's a big guy, and they do have a weight limit, too. We'll see. He looks forward to pool season here in Haw Creek, as we all do, being it's the social site of the year. yeehaw. That tells you how exciting we are! He also looks forward to the next stage of his life, which is middle school!



That's about enough for the initial post, and that about covers it for the next couple of months. More later!