Northeast Tennessee – Photo Gallery – So much Beauty!

Posted by Barbara Techel
Watauga River, TN
Watauga River, TN

While I did share many photos on my Facebook page of our vacation, I know not everyone is on Facebook. So here is a photo gallery of highlights of our vacation to Northeast, TN. We were in the tri-cities of Johnson City, Jonesborough and Elizabethton. We also visited the art district of Asheville, North Carolina one day, which we had been to before, but wanted to go back to again as we loved it the first time.  It was lovely once again! This whole vacation was full of so much beauty all around us!

On the way to TN and one the way home, we stayed one night in our Vamper – Second Chance, as I’d been writing about we were going to do. While the Vamper (a van we are converting to a camper for those that don’t know) isn’t quite done, we were comfortable and slept well. And it was a great way to give it a test run to see how we want to finish it out and organize it, which is our project for over the winter.

And a huge bonus to our vacation was that both Kylie and Gidget did so well. I was a bit apprehensive how it would go, but so pleased they did so well. And as many of my friends have pointed out to me… well, they were with you and John which is what made them feel home.  Yup, I suppose that is true. 

So I hope you enjoy my gallery of photos. I’d highly recommend Watagua River Cabins and this area of Tennessee for those looking for somewhere to visit. Lots to do, and again, so much beauty surrounded us. I could see living in this part of Tennessee part-time should that work out for us in our retirement years.

Enjoy!

 

View out the back of of our cabin - Watauga River running behind cabin.
View out the back of our cabin – Watauga River running behind cabin.
Feeding the giraffes at Brights Zoo – a conservation zoo for endangered species.
Back of our cabin which house three separate cabins
Rose bush blooming out kitchen window of cabin
Rose bush blooming out kitchen window of cabin
View from the front of our cabin
View from the front of our cabin
Watagua River that ran behind cabins
Watagua River that ran behind cabins
View out living room cabin window
View out living room cabin window
Altar I built in our van during the week of our vacation. It's now in my writing cottage!
Altar I built in our van during the week of our vacation. It’s now in my writing cottage!
I loved this tree near our cabin
I loved this tree near our cabin
Another cabin at Watagua River Cabin - Johnson City, TN
Another cabin at Watagua River Cabin – Johnson City, TN
Wilbur Dam on Watagua River
At River Art District - Asheville, NC
At River Art District – Asheville, NC
John enjoying a microbrew and watching a train go by in River Art District - Asheville, NC
John enjoying a microbrew and watching a train go by in River Art District – Asheville, NC
Part of Watauga River
Watagua River higher into the mountains - or as the sign said: "Bear Country"
Watagua River higher into the mountains – or as the sign said: “Bear Country”
One last photo before we left our cabin
One last photo before we left our cabin

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This Sweet Girl. Celebration Day.

Posted by Barbara Techel

This Sweet Girl. Celebration Day.

Three years ago today I stood in the airport terminal with a brightly colored sign that read “Gidget.” My heart pounding. Tears close to the surface ready to spill over.

Was I really going to do this again? Care for another special needs dachshund with disc disease? Gidget would be my third.

My last dachshund, Joie, passing four months before was still an ache in my heart. But I felt sure that loving another would help heal my tender heart — though I’d never forget dear Joie.

She was wrapped in a red blanket as the owner of the rescue walked toward me. My heart beat faster and tears now blurred my eyes as she placed the dappled pup in my arms.

Gidget was now home and so was my fragile heart – full up it was, with the invigorating balm of joy that only opening to love again can do.

While there have been some challenging times with Gidget, it has opened new portals of understanding of myself once again – just like all the dogs I’ve loved before her have done. Just when I thought I’d come a long way, Miss Gidget brought with her more lessons for me to learn.

All my dogs have been a mirror to me and what I needed to better understand for my own evolution. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise to me that Gidget is that, too. But it continues to awe me how dogs can help us heal. 

I’ve said from the beginning that I feel Gidget is a Buddha Dog – her purpose to remind me to keep my center and find balance when I find myself on the verge of losing sight of what is important to me – which is embodying the truth of who I am and what I believe makes for a meaningful and joyful life. 

And while Gidget is that mirror for me, I see that I am that for her, too. When I live from that sacred space within that fills me with peace and calm, this in turn helps her to do the same.

We live in harmony with each other, a give and take, a coming together in the middle, a place where we exist together in the sweetest bliss that is pure joy and love.

That is my Gidget, and I while I celebrate her everyday, today I say a grateful thank you for the gift of 1,095 days of real love that she has been.

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Lily Rolls for Just a Few Short Days in a Wheelchair Granted by the Frankie Wheelchair Fund

Posted by Barbara Techel
Lily Rolls for Just a Few Short Days in a Wheelchair Granted by the Frankie Wheelchair Fund
LILY

Lily found her way to someone with a huge heart willing to go the distance and help her with her paralysis after her previous owners were unable to care for her.

Sydnie was Lily’s angel. She contacted me in October stating she needed help with a wheelchair for Lily asking if The Frankie Wheelchair Fund could help. I was more than happy to do just that and provide the funds for a wheelchair to be custom built by Eddie’s Wheels for Pets.

Sydnie worked hard with Lily improving her condition, but a wheelchair was still needed to provide quality of life for Lily. The wheelchair arrived in early November and while Lily’s story had a great beginning, I’m sad to report that she was diagnosed with Lymphona a few short days after she was up and rolling in her wheelchair.

Sydnie contacted me letting me know that Lily was in a lot of pain and the most humane thing to do was help her cross over, which she did, even though her heart was shattered. She also felt so bad for not being able to do more for Lily and felt in someway she had let her down.

Having been through this with Joie, I completely understood, and assured Sydnie that I truly believe that Lily knew how fortunate she was to have had a wonderful life with Sydnie the last few months. And now Lily is Syndnie’s angel.

And…. Lily’s wheelchair will help another disabled dog in need. As part of the Frankie Wheelchair Fund I ask that recipients of a wheelchair from the fund, return the wheelchair to Eddie’s Wheels when it is no longer needed. So the gift goes on…

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If you are looking to donate this holiday season to a great cause, I’d be delighted if you considered The Frankie Wheelchair Fund, which helps disabled dogs in need of a wheelchair. To date, with the generous donations of others, I’ve been able to help over sixty dogs with the gift of mobility.  Donations can be made online here. Thanks for your consideration!

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